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The Trpc2 Channel Forms Protein-Protein Interactions With Homer And Rtp In The Rat Vomeronasal Organ, Thomas Mast, Jessica Brann, Debra Fadool
The Trpc2 Channel Forms Protein-Protein Interactions With Homer And Rtp In The Rat Vomeronasal Organ, Thomas Mast, Jessica Brann, Debra Fadool
Jessica Brann
BACKGROUND: The signal transduction cascade operational in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of the olfactory system detects odorants important for prey localization, mating, and social recognition. While the protein machinery transducing these external cues has been individually well characterized, little attention has been paid to the role of protein-protein interactions among these molecules. Development of an in vitro expression system for the transient receptor potential 2 channel (TRPC2), which establishes the first electrical signal in the pheromone transduction pathway, led to the discovery of two protein partners that couple with the channel in the native VNO. RESULTS: Homer family proteins were …
Sexual Experience Increases Nitric Oxide Synthase In The Medial Preoptic Area Of Male Rats, Juan Dominguez, Jessica Brann, Mario Gil, Elaine Hull
Sexual Experience Increases Nitric Oxide Synthase In The Medial Preoptic Area Of Male Rats, Juan Dominguez, Jessica Brann, Mario Gil, Elaine Hull
Jessica Brann
Nitric oxide in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) is important for the expression and sensitization of male sexual behavior. In this article, the authors report that repeated sexual experience (mating for 2 hr on each of 3 days) increased levels of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the MPOA of male rats, regardless of whether they mated on the day they were given an overdose of sodium phenobarbital. This effect resulted from the previous experience and not acute mating, as NOS was not increased 2 hr after the first mating in previously naive males. Experience-induced increases in NOS in the MPOA …
Age-Dependent Regional Changes In The Rostral Migratory Stream, Arie Mobley, Alex Bryant, Marion Richard, Jessica Brann
Age-Dependent Regional Changes In The Rostral Migratory Stream, Arie Mobley, Alex Bryant, Marion Richard, Jessica Brann
Jessica Brann
Throughout life the subventricular zone (SVZ) is a source of new olfactory bulb (OB) interneurons. From the SVZ, neuroblasts migrate tangentially through the rostral migratory stream (RMS), a restricted route approximately 5 mm long in mice, reaching the OB within 10-14 days. Within the OB, neuroblasts migrate radially to the granule and glomerular layers where they differentiate into granule and periglomerular (PG) cells and integrate into existing synaptic circuits. SVZ neurogenesis decreases with age, and might be a factor in age-related olfactory deficits. However, the effect of aging on the RMS and on the differentiation of interneuron subpopulations remains poorly …
Sensory Transduction In The Vomeronasal Organ: The Role Of Protein Interactions, Jessica Brann
Sensory Transduction In The Vomeronasal Organ: The Role Of Protein Interactions, Jessica Brann
Jessica Brann
This dissertation discusses signal transduction cascades in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of the stinkpot turtle, Sternotherus odoratus and the Sprague-Dawley rat by investigating downstream signaling events leading to a vomeronasal receptor potential in response to a species-specific chemical. The VNO is the receptor portion of a distinct olfactory system found in most vertebrates that normally functions to detect socially relevant chemical cues. It is thought that chemical communication is transduced when a ligand (chemical or pheromone) binds to a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) in the plasma membrane of a vomeronasal sensory neuron (VSN). The G protein-coupled receptors are located on …