Identification of odorant receptor-associated proteins.

描述(由申请人提供)： 小鼠嗅觉由大约1000种不同的气味感受器(ORs)介导，这些气味感受器由鼻子嗅觉上皮(OE)中的嗅觉感觉神经元(OSNs)表达。每个OSN只表达一个OR等位基因，具有相同OR的OSN散布在OE中。然而，它们的轴突汇聚在嗅球(OB)的一对具有代表性的肾小球中，形成了一幅刻板的地图，其中每个肾小球专用于一个OR。除了它在识别气味方面的作用外，越来越多的证据表明，OR也可能在引导OSN发育中的轴突到达OB中正确的靶肾小球方面发挥作用。这一证据来源于OR基因互换和缺失实验以及OSN轴突中OR蛋白的观察。肾小球靶向是否需要轴突或蛋白质？如果是，机制是什么？我们建议对这些问题进行调查。使用蛋白质组学方法，我们将确定与轴突和纤毛上的ORs相关的蛋白质，以探索轴突ORs的可能作用。通过这样做，我们希望更好地了解轴突OR如何影响肾小球靶向。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Odor detection in mice is mediated by approximately 1000 different odorant receptors (ORs), which are expressed by olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) in the olfactory epithelium (OE) of the nose. Each OSN expresses only one OR allele and OSNs with the same OR are scattered in the OE. However, their axons converge in a representative pair of glomeruli in the olfactory bulb (OB), producing a stereotyped map in which each glomerulus is dedicated to one OR. In addition to its role in recognizing odorants, there is growing evidence that the OR may also play a role in guiding the developing OSN axon to the correct target glomerulus in the OB. The evidence stems from OR gene swapping and deletion experiments and observations of OR protein in OSN axons. Is the axonal OR protein required for glomerular targeting? If so, what is the mechanism? We propose to investigate these questions. Using proteomic methods, we will identify proteins that are associated with ORs on axons versus cilia to explore the possible roles of axonal ORs. By doing so, we hope to better understand how axonal ORs may influence glomerular targeting.