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Morphological and molecular features of the mammalian olfactory sensory neuron axons: What makes these axons so special?

  • Published:
Journal of Neurocytology

Abstract

The main organization and gross morphology of the mammalian olfactory primary pathway, from the olfactory epithelium to the olfactory bulb, has been initially characterized using classical anatomical and ultrastructural approaches. During the last fifteen years, essentially thanks to the cloning of the odorant receptor genes, and to the characterization of a number of molecules expressed by the olfactory sensory neuron axons and their environment, significant new insights have been gained into the understanding of the development and adult functioning of this system. In the course of these genetic, biochemical and neuroanatomical studies, however, several molecular and structural features were uncovered that appear somehow to be unique to these axons. For example, these axons express odorant receptors in their terminal segment, and transport several mRNA species and at least two transcription factors. In the present paper, we review these unusual structural and molecular features and speculate about their possible functions in the development and maintenance of the olfactory system.

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  1. Alain Trembleau

    Present address: Department of Pathology, Columbia University, P&S 23-14, New York, NY, 11032, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS UMR 8542, 46 rue d'Ulm, 75252, Paris Cedex 05, France

    Stéphane Nedelec, Caroline Dubacq & Alain Trembleau

  2. University Pierre and Marie Curie-Paris 6, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252, Paris Cedex 05, France

    Alain Trembleau

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  1. Stéphane Nedelec
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Nedelec, S., Dubacq, C. & Trembleau, A. Morphological and molecular features of the mammalian olfactory sensory neuron axons: What makes these axons so special?. J Neurocytol 34, 49–64 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11068-005-5047-7

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