RECEPTOR MECHANISM IN OLFACTION

这个项目的长期目标是了解脊椎动物的嗅觉 受体神经元检测并区分不同的气味。 这项研究将 使用泥小狗，Necturus maculosus，一种水生蝾螈， 非常适合于贴片记录技术的细胞。 受体神经元 将在没有酶的情况下分离以保持其化学敏感性，并且 我们用气味剂来刺激泥狗 体内嗅觉系统 我们还表明，注射非洲爪蟾卵母细胞 从嗅觉组织中提取的mRNA对气味变得敏感 分子。 我们将利用这种表达系统和分子生物学 技术来识别和表征受体和其他元素 嗅觉传导途径 下一步有四个具体目标 节目期间。 1. 表征用于检测氨基酸的细胞机制 和芳香族化合物。 2. 通过评估化学感觉辨别的基础， 单个嗅觉神经元表现出的敏感性。 3. 确定受体电位的来源，识别离子 电导的基础，以及它们是如何被化学物质调制的 刺激. 4. 识别和表征受体和其他成分的 嗅觉传导途径的表达在卵母细胞的mRNA从 嗅上皮 制剂的适用性和方法的可行性， 已得到证明，提供了强有力的保证，研究将产生 有用的结果。

The long-range goal of this program are to learn how vertebrate olfactory receptor neurons detect and discriminate different odors. The study will use the mudpuppy, Necturus maculosus, an aquatic salamander with large cells that are well suited to patch-recording techniques. Receptor neurons will be isolated without enzymes to preserve their chemo-sensitivity, and studied using odorants which we have shown to stimulate the mudpuppy olfactory system in vivo. We have also shown that Xenopus oocytes injected with mRNA prepared from olfactory tissue can become sensitive to odor molecules. We will use this expression system and molecular biological techniques to identify and characterize receptors and other elements of olfactory transduction pathways. There are four specific aims for the next program period. 1. Characterize the cellular mechanisms used for detection of amino acids and aromatic compounds in dissociated olfactory neurons. 2. Examine the basis of chemo-sensory discrimination by evaluating the sensitivity exhibited by individual olfactory neurons. 3. Determine the origin of the receptor potential, identifying the ionic conductances which underlie it and how they are modulated by chemical stimulation. 4. Identify and characterize receptors and other components of the olfactory transduction pathways by expression in oocytes of mRNA from the olfactory epithelium. The suitability of the preparations and the feasibility of the methods have been demonstrated, providing strong assurance that the study will yield useful results.