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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
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 …
Selective Gene Expression By Postnatal Electroporation During Olfactory Interneuron Nurogenesis, Alexander T. Chesler, Claire E. Le Pichon, Jessica H. Brann, Ricardo C. Araneda
Selective Gene Expression By Postnatal Electroporation During Olfactory Interneuron Nurogenesis, Alexander T. Chesler, Claire E. Le Pichon, Jessica H. Brann, Ricardo C. Araneda
Jessica Brann
Neurogenesis persists in the olfactory system throughout life. The mechanisms of how new neurons are generated, how they integrate into circuits, and their role in coding remain mysteries. Here we report a technique that will greatly facilitate research into these questions. We found that electroporation can be used to robustly and selectively label progenitors in the Subventicular Zone. The approach was performed postnatally, without surgery, and with near 100% success rates. Labeling was found in all classes of interneurons in the olfactory bulb, persisted to adulthood and had no adverse effects. The broad utility of electroporation was demonstrated by encoding …
Developmental Expression Of Neurotrophin Receptor Genes In Rat Geniculate Ganglion Neurons, Albert Farbman, Jessica Brann, Alexander Rozenblat, M. Rochlin
Developmental Expression Of Neurotrophin Receptor Genes In Rat Geniculate Ganglion Neurons, Albert Farbman, Jessica Brann, Alexander Rozenblat, M. Rochlin
Jessica Brann
Individual neurons dissected from immunohistochemically stained paraffin sections of the developing rat geniculate (VIIth cranial) ganglion were assayed for their content of mRNA of the neurotrophin receptor genes, p75 , trkA , trkB and trkC. Fetal and postnatal rats, from the 13th embryonic day (E13) until the 20th postnatal day (P20), were used. Single cells were subjected to RNA amplification, followed by treatment with reverse transcriptase and DNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The identity of the PCR products was verified by subcloning and sequencing. A total of 227 neurons were examined, of which 212 (93%) gave a …
Vomeronasal Sensory Neurons From Sternotherus Odoratus (Stinkpot/Musk Turtle) Respond To Chemosignals Via The Phospholipase C System, Jessica H. Brann, Debra A. Fadool
Vomeronasal Sensory Neurons From Sternotherus Odoratus (Stinkpot/Musk Turtle) Respond To Chemosignals Via The Phospholipase C System, Jessica H. Brann, Debra A. Fadool
Jessica Brann
The mammalian signal transduction apparatus utilized by vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs) in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) has been richly explored, while that of reptiles, and in particular, the stinkpot or musk turtle Sternotherus odoratus, is less understood. Given that the turtle's well-known reproductive and mating behaviors are governed by chemical communication, 247 patch-clamp recordings were made from male and female S. odoratus VSNs to study the chemosignal-activated properties as well as the second-messenger system underlying the receptor potential. Of the total neurons tested, 88 (35%) were responsive to at least one of five complex natural chemicals, some of which demonstrated …
Regeneration Of New Neurons Is Preserved In Aged Vomeronasal Epithelia, Jessica H. Brann, Stuart Firestein
Regeneration Of New Neurons Is Preserved In Aged Vomeronasal Epithelia, Jessica H. Brann, Stuart Firestein
Jessica Brann
During normal and diseased aging, it is thought the capacity for tissue regeneration and repair in neuronal tissues diminishes. In the peripheral olfactory system, stem cell reservoirs permit regeneration of olfactory and vomeronasal sensory neurons, a unique capacity among neurons. Following injury, a large number of new neurons can be regenerated in a young animal. However, it is unknown whether this capacity for renewal exists in aged proliferative populations. Here, we report that neuronal replacement-associated proliferation continues in the vomeronasal organ of aged (18-24 months) mice. In addition, the potential for the aged stem cell to yield a mature neuron …
Strategies For Odor Coding In The Piriform Cortex, Jessica H. Brann, Shari R. Saideman, Matthew T. Valley, Denise Wiedl
Strategies For Odor Coding In The Piriform Cortex, Jessica H. Brann, Shari R. Saideman, Matthew T. Valley, Denise Wiedl
Jessica Brann
No abstract provided.
Heterogeneity Of Voltage- And Chemosignal-Activated Response Profiles In Vomeronasal Sensory Neurons, Antonieta Labra, Jessica Brann, Debra Fadool
Heterogeneity Of Voltage- And Chemosignal-Activated Response Profiles In Vomeronasal Sensory Neurons, Antonieta Labra, Jessica Brann, Debra Fadool
Jessica Brann
Liolaemus lizards were explored to ascertain whether they would make an amenable model to study single-cell electrophysiology of neurons in the vomeronasal organ (VNO). Despite a rich array of chemosensory-related behaviors chronicled for this genus, no anatomical or functional data exist for the VNO, the organ mediating these types of behaviors. Two Liolaemus species (L. bellii and L. nigroviridis) were collected in Central Chile in the Farellones Mountains and transported to the United States. Lizards were subjected to hypothermia and then a lethal injection of sodium pentabarbitol prior to all experiments described in the following text. Retrograde dye perfusion combined …
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 …
Type-Specific Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor Localization In The Vomeronasal Organ And Its Interaction With A Transient Receptor Potential Channel, Trpc2, Jessica H. Brann, John C. Dennis, Edward E. Morrison, Debra A. Fadool
Type-Specific Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor Localization In The Vomeronasal Organ And Its Interaction With A Transient Receptor Potential Channel, Trpc2, Jessica H. Brann, John C. Dennis, Edward E. Morrison, Debra A. Fadool
Jessica Brann
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is the receptor portion of the accessory olfactory system and transduces chemical cues that identify social hierarchy, reproductive status, conspecifics and prey. Signal transduction in VNO neurons is apparently accomplished via an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-activated calcium conductance that includes a different set of G proteins than those identified in vertebrate olfactory sensory neurons. We used immunohistochemical (IHC) and SDS-PAGE/western analysis to localize three IP3 receptors (IP3R) in the rat VNO epithelium. Type-I IP3R expression was weak or absent. Antisera for type-II and -III IP3R recognized appropriate molecular weight proteins by SDS-PAGE, and labeled protein could be …
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 …