In various brain regions, particularly in the hippocampus, afferent fiber projections terminate in specific layers. Little is known about the molecular cues governing this laminar specificity. To this end we have recently shown that the innervation pattern of entorhinal fibers to the hippocampus is mimicked by the lamina-specific adhesion of entorhinal cells on living hippocampal slices, suggesting a role of adhesion molecules in the positioning of entorhinal fibers. Here, we have analyzed the role of extracellular matrix components in mediating this lamina-specific adhesion. We show that hyaluronidase treatment of hippocampal slices abolishes lamina-specific adhesion as well as layer-specific growth of entorhinal fibers to the dentate outer molecular layer in organotypic slice cultures. We conclude that hyaluronan-associated molecules play a crucial role in the formation of the lamina-specific entorhinal projection to the hippocampus.
