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Query: UMLS:C0432222 (SEM)
 47,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We used scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy to examine ultrastructural changes in the olfactory epithelium (OE) of rainbow trout following unilateral olfactory nerve section. Both ciliated receptor cells (CRC) and microvillar receptor cells (MRC) degenerated and subsequently differentiated from unidentified precursor cells. The following changes took place in fish that were held at 10 degrees C at the stated period following olfactory nerve section: on day 7, MRC and CRC contained intracellular vacuoles; on day 12, the olfactory knobs appeared disrupted; by day 26, olfactory receptor cells were absent from the OE; on day 42, there were receptor cell bodies and a few CRC with short cilia at the apical surface; and on day 55, a small number of both CRC and MRC had differentiated. By day 76, both CRC and MRC repopulated the OE. Degenerative changes in the cytoplasm of the sustentacular cells (SC) and ciliated nonsensory cells (CNC) were observed in the first 26 days following olfactory nerve section, but these cells remained intact throughout the experiment. The degeneration and subsequent differentiation of CRC and MRC supports and extends previous observations that both cell types are olfactory receptor neurons with axons that extend along the olfactory nerve to the olfactory bulb.
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PMID:Ciliated and microvillar receptor cells degenerate and then differentiate in the olfactory epithelium of rainbow trout following olfactory nerve section. 139 69

This paper describes four investigations of the olfactory mucosa of the brown trout: 1) the ultrastructure of the olfactory mucosa as revealed by scanning (SEM), conventional transmission (TEM), and high voltage (HVEM) electron microscopy; 2) light and electron-microscopic investigations of retrograde transport of the tracer macromolecule horseradish peroxidase (HRP) when applied to the cut olfactory nerve; 3) SEM and TEM investigations of the effects of olfactory nerve transection on cell populations within the olfactory epithelium; and 4) ultrastructural investigations of reversible degeneration of olfactory receptors caused by elevated copper concentrations. The trout olfactory epithelium contains five cell types: ciliated epithelial cells, ciliated olfactory receptor cells, microvillar olfactory receptor cells, supporting cells, and basal cells. The ciliated and microvillar olfactory receptor cells and a small number of basal cells are backfilled by HRP when the tracer is applied to the cut olfactory nerve. When the olfactory nerve is cut, both ciliated and microvillar olfactory receptor cells degenerate within 2 days and are morphologically intact again within 8 days. When wild trout are taken from their native stream and placed in tanks with elevated copper concentrations, ciliated and microvillar cells degenerate. Replacement of these trout into their stream of origin is followed by morphologic restoration of both types of olfactory receptor cells. Ciliated and microvillar receptor cells are primary sensory bipolar neurons whose dendrites make contact with the environment; their axons travel directly to the brain. Consequently, substances can be transported directly from the environment into the brain via these "naked neurons." Since fish cannot escape from the water in which they swim, and since that water may occasionally contain brain-toxic substances, the ability to close off--and later reopen--this anatomic gateway to the brain would confer a tremendous selective advantage upon animals that evolved the "brain-sparing" capacity to do so. Consequently, the unique regenerative powers of vertebrate olfactory receptor neurons may have their evolutionary origin in fishes.
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PMID:Ultrastructural neurobiology of the olfactory mucosa of the brown trout, Salmo trutta. 139 70

The olfactory epithelium has been shown to contain fifth-type cells and microvillar cells and olfactory receptor cells along with supporting and basal cells. However, the morphological differences among them are unknown, especially between the former two, and most of their functions are still unclear. In this study, the fifth-type cell and the microvillar cell in the olfactory epithelium of mouse were micromorphologically investigated by SEM and TEM. With the aim of elucidation their functions, the morphological change in these cells after resection of olfactory bulb were studied. In addition, the changes in the olfactory epihelium after HRP injections into the postganglionic fiber for the trigeminal nerve and the olfactory bulb were examined. The TEM observation revealed that the fifth-type cell has finger-like microvilli, which are strong and straight. The microvilli were characterized by a specific core structure consisting of microfilament bundles. On the other band, the microvilli of the microvillar cell were meandering and had no core structure, indicating that the two cells are clearly different types. By SEM observation, neither the fifth-type cell nor the microvillar cell was found in the normal olfactory epithelium. When the olfactory cillial mat disappeared as a result of recection of the olfactory bulb, the fifth-type cell became observable. On the 300th-day after the resection, it was found that the olfactory receptor cells had disappeared and the microvilli of the supporting cells were shortened. Thus, the surface structure of the microvillar cell became clearly observable. Then, the microvilli were found to be shorter than those of the fifth-type cell and were distributed radially. Neither the fifth-type cell nor the microvillar cell was not affected by resection of the olfactory bulb. Most of the olfactory vesicles were HRP positive after the HRP injection into the olfactory bulb; however, HRP was not detected in either the fifth-type cells or the microvillar cells. After the HRP injection into the trigeminal postganglionic fiber, it was detectable in part of the nerves in the lamina propria mucosa and the epithelal basement, but not in the fifth-type cell or microvillar cell. These results suggest that the fifth-type cell is a mechanoreceptor for a system other than the olfactory one and the microvillar cell is a kind of supporting cell in an early stage or final stage near death.
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PMID:[Study of the fifth-type cell in the olfactory epithelium]. 983 92

Mechanisms underlying action potential initiation in olfactory receptor cells (ORCs) during odor stimulation were investigated using conventional and dynamic patch-clamp recording techniques. Under current-clamp conditions, action potentials generated by a least effective odor-induced depolarization were almost completely blocked by 0.1 mm Ni(2+), a T-type Ca(2+) channel blocker, but not by 0.1 mm Cd(2+), a high voltage-activated Ca(2+) channel blocker. Under voltage-clamp conditions, depolarizing voltage steps induced a fast transient inward current, which consisted of Na(+) (I(Na)) and T-type Ca(2+) (I(Ca,T)) currents. The amplitude of I(Ca,T) was approximately one-fourth of that of I(Na) (0.23 +/- 0.03, mean +/- SEM). Because both I(Na) and I(Ca,T) are known to show rapid inactivation, we examined how much I(Na) and I(Ca,T) are activated during the gradually depolarizing initial phase of receptor potentials. The ratio of I(Ca,T)/I(Na) during a ramp depolarization at the slope of 0.5 mV/msec was 0.56 +/- 0.03. Using the dynamic patch-clamp recording technique, we also recorded I(Ca,T) and I(Na) during the generation of odor-induced action potentials. This ratio of I(Ca,T)/I(Na) was 0.54 +/- 0.04. These ratios were more than twice as large as that (0.23) obtained from the experiment using voltage steps, suggesting that I(Ca,T) carries significant amount of current to generate the action potentials. We conclude that I(Ca,T) contributes to enhance odor sensitivity by lowering the threshold of spike generation in ORCs.
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PMID:Enhancement by T-type Ca2+ currents of odor sensitivity in olfactory receptor cells. 1131 42

Catla catla, Labeo rohita, and Cirrhinus mrigala are important alimentary fish in India. Their reproduction (breeding) depends on season. The fish perceive external factors-stimuli and chemical signals through the olfactory system that plays the key role in the central regulation of reproduction. However, in the available literature, any electron microscopy data on organization of olfactory elements in these fish are absent. We have studied ultrastructure of the olfactory organ in male L. rohita by using scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The olfactory organ consists of olfactory epithelium, a short nerve, and olfactory bulb. The organ has oval shape and consists of approximately 47-52 lamellae in adult fish and of 14-20 lamellae in fish at the stage of fingerling. These lamellae originate from the midline raphe. By using SEM, the presence of microvillar sensory and ciliated non-sensory cells in these lamellae is shown. By using TEM, a microvillar receptor cell is revealed, which has rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus towards the apical end. Basal cells are found at the base of the receptor cell; supporting cells are located adjacent to olfactory receptor neurons, while epithelial cells--in the non-sensory part of olfactory epithelium. Mast, blastema and macrophages cells are also found in the basal lamina. This work is the first publication on structural organization of olfactory system of the Indian major carp, which provides information about morphological and ultrastructural organization of olfactory system and opens new opportunities for study of chemical neuroanatomy, sensory signal processing, and nervous regulation of reproduction of the Indian major carp.
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PMID:[Organization of olfactory system of the Indian major carp Labeo rohita (Ham.): a study using scanning and transmission microscopy]. 1772 34

In the giant male prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, the olfactory system is thought to be the main pathway for modulating sexual behavior through pheromone perception. In this report, we first used gross anatomical, histological, and SEM methods to describe the structures of the olfactory receptors (sensilla setae), their neural pathways, and possible role in modulating mating behavior. On the surfaces of antennule and antenna filaments there are four types of sensory receptors, viz single spike-like setae, single flagellum-like setae, multiple flagella-like setae, and aesthetascs (ASs). The ASs, which had previously been proposed to be odor receptor setae, are found only on the short filament of lateral antennule (slAn). Each AS on the slAn connects with olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), whose axons form an outer central antennule nerve (ocAnNv), which then connects with the olfactory neutrophil (ON) of the brain. Thus, the slAn is the major olfactory organ that conveys sensory inputs from each AS to the ON within the deutocerebrum. GABA immunoreactivity was present in ASs, neurons of ORNs, inner central antennular, lateral tegumentary nerve, ocAnNv and the ON, inferring that GABA is the likely neurotransmitter in modulating olfaction. Disruption of the slAn by ablation or covering with Vaseline, resulted in significant reduction of mating behavior, indicating that this organ is crucial for sex pheromone perception. Identification of the active pheromones and further bioassays are now being performed.
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PMID:Structure of the olfactory receptor organs, their GABAergic neural pathways, and modulation of mating behavior, in the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii. 2349 86

Ants are known to use a colony-specific blend of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) as a pheromone to discriminate between nestmates and non-nestmates and the CHCs were sensed in the basiconic type of antennal sensilla (S. basiconica). To investigate the functional design of this type of antennal sensilla, we observed the ultra-structures at 2D and 3D in the Japanese carpenter ant, Camponotus japonicus, using a serial block-face scanning electron microscope (SBF-SEM), and conventional and high-voltage transmission electron microscopes. Based on the serial images of 352 cross sections of SBF-SEM, we reconstructed a 3D model of the sensillum revealing that each S. basiconica houses > 100 unbranched dendritic processes, which extend from the same number of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). The dendritic processes had characteristic beaded-structures and formed a twisted bundle within the sensillum. At the "beads," the cell membranes of the processes were closely adjacent in the interdigitated profiles, suggesting functional interactions via gap junctions (GJs). Immunohistochemistry with anti-innexin (invertebrate GJ protein) antisera revealed positive labeling in the antennae of C. japonicus. Innexin 3, one of the five antennal innexin subtypes, was detected as a dotted signal within the S. basiconica as a sensory organ for nestmate recognition. These morphological results suggest that ORNs form an electrical network via GJs between dendritic processes. We were unable to functionally certify the electric connections in an olfactory sensory unit comprising such multiple ORNs; however, with the aid of simulation of a mathematical model, we examined the putative function of this novel chemosensory information network, which possibly contributes to the distinct discrimination of colony-specific blends of CHCs or other odor detection.
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PMID:Putative Neural Network Within an Olfactory Sensory Unit for Nestmate and Non-nestmate Discrimination in the Japanese Carpenter Ant: The Ultra-structures and Mathematical Simulation. 3028 3

Using FIB-SEM we report the entire synaptic connectome of glomerulus VA1v of the right antennal lobe in Drosophila melanogaster. Within the glomerulus we densely reconstructed all neurons, including hitherto elusive local interneurons. The fruitless-positive, sexually dimorphic VA1v included >11,140 presynaptic sites with ~38,050 postsynaptic dendrites. These connected input olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs, 51 ipsilateral, 56 contralateral), output projection neurons (18 PNs), and local interneurons (56 of >150 previously reported LNs). ORNs are predominantly presynaptic and PNs predominantly postsynaptic; newly reported LN circuits are largely an equal mixture and confer extensive synaptic reciprocity, except the newly reported LN2V with input from ORNs and outputs mostly to monoglomerular PNs, however. PNs were more numerous than previously reported from genetic screens, suggesting that the latter failed to reach saturation. We report a matrix of 192 bodies each having >50 connections; these form 88% of the glomerulus' pre/postsynaptic sites.
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PMID:A resource for the Drosophila antennal lobe provided by the connectome of glomerulus VA1v. 3038 40