OLFACTORY RECEPTOR NEURONS

嗅觉受体神经元

• 批准号: 6413270
• 负责人: JOHN W SCOTT
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: EMORY UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-02-01 至 2004-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6413270
• 关键词: albino rat; cell biology; chemoreceptors; electrical measurement; electrophysiology; gas chromatography; neurosurgery; odors; olfactions; olfactory lobe; respiratory epithelium

Recent advances have suggested a strong spatial component in the organization of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). Multineuron electroolfactogram (EOG) recordings spaced systematically across the rat olfactory epithelium show selective responses to odorants with certain chemical structures. The regions of the epithelium responding differently to polar and nonpolar odorants express different subgroups of olfactory receptor genes and ORNs of these regions send axons to different parts of the olfactory bulb. This suggests a spatial factor in olfactory processing. The behavior of individual ORN populations or of receptor protein populations has not been extensively surveyed, although a small number have been studied. We will use findings from our EOG recordings as a guide to investigate the properties of individual ORNs. The ultimate goal is to find principles by which chemical structure determines odor quality. For example, it is hypothesized that most ORNs in the dorsal epithelium will be more responsive to polar molecules, while those in the ventral epithelium will be more responsive to saturated hydrocarbons. Because of evidence suggesting diversity in receptor mechanisms, the possibility of inhibitory interactions in ORNs will be studied. The studies will be done in the intact rat olfactory epithelium to preserve both spatial relationships and the processes 'occurring in the surrounding tissue. The primary technique will be extracellular single unit recording, although intracellular penetrations may be used to validate conclusions about inhibitory actions or confirm that very broad response spectra result from ORNs rather than multicellular recordings. The research should provide a greater understanding of the spatial organization of inputs to the olfactory bulb. The data may ultimately aid in the understanding of the basic functioning of this sensory system, which is important in social and alimentary behaviors.

最近的进步表明，在嗅觉受体神经元（ORNS）的组织中有很强的空间成分。多部位电动元电解图（EOG）记录在大鼠嗅觉上皮上有系统间隔的记录显示出对具有某些化学结构的气味的选择性响应。上皮的区域对极性和非极性气味的反应不同，表达了嗅觉受体基因的不同亚组，而这些区域的ORN则将轴突发送到嗅球的不同部分。这表明嗅觉处理中的空间因素。尽管已经研究了少数人，但尚未对单个ORN种群或受体蛋白质种群的行为进行广泛的调查。我们将使用EOG记录中的发现作为研究单个ORN的属性的指南。最终目标是找到化学结构决定气味质量的原理。例如，假设背上上皮中的大多数ORN对极性分子的反应更敏感，而腹侧上皮中的大多数ORN将对饱和碳氢化合物的反应更敏感。由于表明受体机制多样性的证据，将研究ORN中抑制性相互作用的可能性。这些研究将在完整的大鼠嗅觉上皮中进行，以保留空间关系和周围组织中发生的过程。主要技术将是细胞外单个单元记录，尽管细胞内穿透性可以用来验证有关抑制作用的结论，或者确认非常广泛的响应光谱是由ORN而不是多细胞记录引起的。这项研究应更深入地了解嗅球的空间组织。数据最终可能有助于理解这种感觉系统的基本功能，这在社会和消化行为中很重要。