Olfactory mucosa, the sense organ of smell, is an adult tissue that is regenerated and repaired throughout life to maintain the integrity of the sense of smell. When the sensory neurons of the olfactory epithelium die they are replaced by proliferation of stem cells and their axons grow from the nose to brain assisted by olfactory ensheathing cells located in the lamina propria beneath the sens...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of olfactory ensheathing cell transplantation on functional recovery of rats with complete spinal cord transection. DATA SOURCES A computer-based online search of Medline (1989-2013), Embase (1989-2013), Cochrane library (1989-2013), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (1989-2013), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (1989-2013), VIP (1989-2013), Wanfa...

OBJECTIVE Nerve regenerative is a complex problem and cell therapy strategies are being developed to enhance axonal regeneration. One approach is to transplant peripheral myelin-forming cells (Schwann cells or olfactory ensheathing cells) that can secrete neurotrophic factors and participate in remyelination of regenerated axons. The objectives of this report are to first review the basic regen...

This review describes the results of the transplantation of Schwann cells and olfactory ensheathing glia in combination with other interventions. The complete transection injury model was used to test the combination of Schwann cell bridges with methylprednisolone, neurotrophins, or olfactory ensheathing glia. The contusion injury model was used to compare Schwann cell and olfactory ensheathing...

Primary olfactory axons grow along a stereotypical pathway from the nasal cavity to the olfactory bulb through an extracellular matrix rich in laminin and heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) and bounded by the expression of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs). This pathway is pioneered by olfactory ensheathing cells, which provide a substrate conducive for axon growth during early devel...

Numerous studies in animals have shown the unique property of olfactory ensheathing cells to stimulate regeneration of lesioned axons in the spinal cord. In a Phase I clinical trial, we assessed the safety and feasibility of transplantation of autologous mucosal olfactory ensheathing cells and olfactory nerve fibroblasts in patients with complete spinal cord injury. Six patients with chronic th...

Olfactory ensheathing cells, the glial cells of the olfactory nervous system, exhibit unique growth-promoting and migratory properties that make them interesting candidates for cell therapies targeting neuronal injuries such as spinal cord injury. Transplantation of olfactory cells is feasible and safe in humans; however, functional outcomes are highly variable with some studies showing dramati...

OBJECTIVE To identify global research trends in transplantation of neural stem cells, Schwann cells and olfactory ensheathing cells for spinal cord injury. DATA RETRIEVAL We performed a bibliometric analysis of studies on transplantation of neural stem cells, Schwann cells and olfactory ensheathing cells for spinal cord injury published from 2002 to 2011 and retrieved from the Web of Science,...

The formation of complex but highly organized neural circuits requires interactions between neurons and glia. During the assembly of the Drosophila olfactory circuit, 50 olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) classes and 50 projection neuron (PN) classes form synaptic connections in 50 glomerular compartments in the antennal lobe, each of which represents a discrete olfactory information-processing ch...

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are found in the olfactory bulb and olfactory nasal mucosa. They resemble Schwann cells on light and electron microscopy, however, immunohistochemical staining can distinguish between the two. There are less than 30 cases of olfactory groove schwannomas reported in the literature while there is only one reported case of OEC tumor. We report an OEC tumor in a 4...