Cholinergic microvillous cells in the mouse main olfactory epithelium and effect of acetylcholine on olfactory sensory neurons and supporting cells.

ABSTRACT: The mammalian olfactory epithelium is made up of ciliated olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), supporting cells, basal cells, and microvillous cells. Previously, we reported that a population of nonneuronal microvillous cells expresses transient receptor potential channel M5 (TRPM5). Using transgenic mice and immunocytochemical labeling, we identify that these cells are cholinergic, expressing the signature markers of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and the vesicular acetylcholine transporter. This result suggests that acetylcholine (ACh) can be synthesized and released locally to modulate activities of neighboring supporting cells and OSNs. In Ca(2+) imaging experiments, ACh induced increases in intracellular Ca(2+) levels in 78% of isolated supporting cells tested in a concentration-depend

SUBMITTER: Ogura T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3174807 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature