Introduction: Spinal cord injuries (SCI) lead to permanent irreversible functional deficits.  Poor prognosis of patients is the motivation of searching a treatment for the chronic injury.  Planting stem cells provides us with a promising strategy. In the meanwhile, the use of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) has shown very good results.  This study aims at evaluating the effe...

Certain mammalian olfactory receptor (OR) genes are exclusively or predominantly expressed in spermatozoa [1–2]. One of these receptors, hOR17-4, has been shown to mediate directed chemotactic movement of human sperm in vitro [3]. Whether sperm ORs additionally perform their ‘conventional’ task in olfaction is a longstanding question. Here, we investigate the function of hOR17-4 in human olfact...

The four regions of the murine nasal cavity featuring olfactory neurons were studied anatomically and by labeling with lectins and relevant antibodies with a view to establishing criteria for the identification of olfactory subsystems that are readily applicable to other mammals. In the main olfactory epithelium and the septal organ the olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) are embedded in quasi-str...

BACKGROUND Niemann-Pick type C disease (NPC) is a rare autosomal recessive lipid storage disease characterized by progressive neurodegeneration. As only a few studies have been conducted on the impact of NPC on sensory systems, we used a mutant mouse model (NPC1(-/-)) to examine the effects of this disorder to morphologically distinct regions of the olfactory system, namely the olfactory epithe...

Background: Mancozeb, (ethylene-bis-dithiocarbamate), is an important fungicide useful against a wide range of fungus affecting ornamental plants, crops, and fruits. We aimed to evaluate the changes in olfactory mucosa due mancozeb toxicity and, if cytokine active, IL-6 immunoactivity. Material Method: In experimental group, (500 mg/kg) was administered with inhalation 10 male Wistar Albino rat...

There is increasing evidence that olfactory neurons can differentiate from the basal cells of the olfactory neuroepithelium in normal adult vertebrates (Nagahara, 1940; Andres, 1965; Thornhill, 1970; Takagi, 1971 ; Moulton, 1971 ; Graziadei, 1971, 1973 ; Graziadei et al ., 1971 ; Graziadei et al ., 1972). Autoradiography at both the light microscope and the transmission electron microscope leve...

An organism's awareness of its surroundings is dependent on sensory function. As antennas to our external environment, cilia are involved in fundamental biological processes such as olfaction, photoreception, and touch. The olfactory system has adapted this organelle for its unique sensory function and optimized it for detection of external stimuli. The elongated and tapering structure of olfac...

Olfactory receptor neurons are responsible for the detection and signal transduction of odor ligands. Several genes associated with this activity are preferentially or exclusively expressed in these neurons. Among these genes are those coding for olfactory receptors, adenylyl cyclase type III, the cyclic nucleotide gated olfactory channel 1 (OcNC-1), Galpha(olf) and the olfactory marker protein...