Conditional Deletion of Ric-8b in Olfactory Sensory Neurons Leads to Olfactory Impairment

The olfactory system can discriminate a vast number of odorants. This ability derives from the existence of a large family of odorant receptors expressed in the cilia of the olfactory sensory neurons. Odorant receptors signal through the olfactory-specific G-protein subunit, G alpha olf. Ric-8b, a g...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Machado, Cleiton F., Nagai, Maria H., Lyra, Cassandra S., Reis-Silva, Thiago M., Machado, Andre M. [UNIFESP], Glezer, Isaias [UNIFESP], Felicio, Luciano F., Malnic, Bettina
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da UNIFESP
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unifesp.br:11600/53997
Acceso en línea:http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0943-17.2017
https://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/53997
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:G-protein
GEF
knock-out mouse
odorant receptor
olfaction
olfactory sensory neuron
Descripción
Sumario:The olfactory system can discriminate a vast number of odorants. This ability derives from the existence of a large family of odorant receptors expressed in the cilia of the olfactory sensory neurons. Odorant receptors signal through the olfactory-specific G-protein subunit, G alpha olf. Ric-8b, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, interacts with G alpha olf and can amplify odorant receptor signal transduction in vitro. To explore the function of Ric-8b in vivo, we generated a tissue specific knock-out mouse by crossing OMP-Cre transgenic mice to Ric-8b floxed mice. We found that olfactory-specific Ric-8b knock-out mice of mixed sex do not express the G alpha olf protein in the olfactory epithelium. We also found that in these mice, the mature olfactory sensory neuron layer is reduced, and that olfactory sensory neurons show increased rate of cell death compared with wild-type mice. Finally, behavioral tests showed that the olfactory-specific Ric-8b knock-out mice show an impaired sense of smell, even though their motivation and mobility behaviors remain normal.