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Transneuronal transport of peroxidase-conjugated wheat germ agglutinin (WGA-HRP) from the olfactory epithelium to the brain of the adult rat

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Summary

The sensory neurons of the olfactory epithelium, as a consequence of their odor detection function, contact both the external environment and the central nervous system. The possibility that substances applied to the epithelium might reach the central nervous system was investigated by the intranasal application of peroxidase-conjugated wheat germ agglutinin (WGA-HRP). WGA-HRP was transported through olfactory receptor axons to the glomerulus of the olfactory bulb. Reaction product was localized electron microscopically to tubulovesicular profiles and dense bodies in sensory axons. Evidence of transneuronal transport was indicated by reaction product localized in dense bodies in dendrites postsynaptic to receptor cell axons. Periglomerular, tufted and mitral cells in the olfactory bulb also were transneuronally labeled. Anterograde transneuronal labeling occured in the olfactory tubercle, piriform cortex and surrounding the lateral olfactory tract. Retrograde transneuronal label was found in neurons of the basal forebrain with the largest number of perikarya in the lateral nucleus of the horizontal limb of the diagonal band, a major source of cholinergic afferents to the olfactory bulb. These data suggest that substances, specifically those which bind to receptors, are transported from the olfactory receptor neurons in the nasal epithelium to the brain. Thus, the olfactory system may provide a route of entry for exogenous substances to the basal forebrain.

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Abbreviations

AC:

anterior commissure

CC:

corpus callosum

CI:

internal capsule

CP:

caudate putamen

DBB:

diagonal band of Broca

FX:

fornix

GP:

globus pallidus

IC:

island of Callelae

LV:

lateral ventricle

MS:

medial septum

OC:

optic chiasm

PIR:

piriform cortex

RF:

rhinal fissure

SON:

supraoptic nucleus

SCN:

suprachiasmatic nucleus

SM:

stria medullaris

ST:

stria terminalis

TOL:

lateral olfactory tract

TUO:

olfactory tubercle

III:

third ventricle

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Cornell University Medical College, 1300 York Avenue, 10021, New York, NY, USA

    H. Baker

  2. Department of Anatomy, Medical College of Virginia, 23298, Richmond, VA, USA

    R. F. Spencer

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  1. H. Baker
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  2. R. F. Spencer
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Baker, H., Spencer, R.F. Transneuronal transport of peroxidase-conjugated wheat germ agglutinin (WGA-HRP) from the olfactory epithelium to the brain of the adult rat. Exp Brain Res 63, 461–473 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00237470

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00237470

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