Preputial gland activates olfactory receptor neurons in rat: Calcium imaging study using laser scanning confocal microscopy.
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Date
2013-06
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Abstract
The rodent preputial gland is one of the major sources of odours and is reported to be involved in several behavioural activities. However, how the preputial gland initiates the olfactory response to manifest the effects is not known. Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) present in the olfactory epithelium are involved in the perception of odorant/pheromonal compounds. In the present study, the response of rat ORNs to preputial gland extract was evaluated by calcium imaging analysis. We found that some rat ORNs responded to the preputial gland extract by exhibiting an intracellular calcium response. By contrast, the ORNs did not respond at all to the foot pad extract (control). The results indicated that the substances contained in the preputial gland might interact with a type of receptor expressed in the female rat ORNs, suggested to manifest the behavioural responses, such as social and sexual interactions. This study provided the first evidence of activation of ORNs by the preputial gland extract.
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Keywords
Olfactory receptor neurons, Main olfactory system, Calcium imaging, Preputial gland, Pheromone, Rat
Citation
Ponmanickam Ponnirul, Archunan Govindaraju, Achiraman Shanmugam, Sankar Ramaiyan, Saito Toshiyuki, Habara Yoshiaki. Preputial gland activates olfactory receptor neurons in rat: Calcium imaging study using laser scanning confocal microscopy. Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics. 2013 Jun; 50(3): 242-246.