Project description:We performed single-cell RNAseq of human olfactory and respiratory epithelium and found evidence of olfactory neurogenesis and differentiation in adult humans.
Project description:We report RNA sequencing of single olfactory neurons from mouse olfactory epithelium in developmental progression from progenitors to precursors to immature neurons to mature neurons. Most mature neurons expressed only one of ~ 1000 odorant receptor genes (Olfrs) at high levels, whereas many immature neurons expressed low levels of multiple Olfrs. Investigating expression of odorant receptors genes in mouse olfactory sensory neurons during development.
Project description:Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by multiple symptoms including olfactory dysfunction, whose underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we explored pathologic changes in the olfactory pathway of transgenic (Tg) mice of both sexes expressing the human A30P mutant α-synuclein (α-syn; α-syn-Tg mice) at 6–7 and 12–14 months of age, representing early and late-stages of motor progression, respectively. α-Syn-Tg mice at late stages exhibited olfactory behavioral deficits, which correlated with severe α-syn pathology in projection neurons (PNs) of the olfactory pathway. In parallel, olfactory bulb (OB) neurogenesis in α-syn-Tg mice was reduced in the OB granule cells at six to seven months and OB periglomerular cells at 12–14 months, respectively, both of which could contribute to olfactory dysfunction. Proteomic analyses showed a disruption in endocytic and exocytic pathways in the OB during the early stages which appeared exacerbated at the synaptic terminals when the mice developed olfactory deficits at 12–14 months. Our data suggest that (1) the α-syn-Tg mice recapitulate the olfactory functional deficits seen in PD; (2) olfactory structures exhibit spatiotemporal disparities for vulnerability to α-syn pathology; (3) α-syn pathology is restricted to projection neurons in the olfactory pathway; (4) neurogenesis in adult α-syn-Tg mice is reduced in the OB; and (5) synaptic endocytosis and exocytosis defects in the OB may further explain olfactory deficits.
Project description:The polycomb group protein, CBX8, is a neuron-specific component of Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) in the adult olfactory epithelium. We performed loss of function assays in an in vitro model of the regeneratng olfactory epithelium to determine the role of CBX8 in adult olfactory neurogenesis. Whole-transcriptome analysis highlighted the importance of CBX8-PRC1 in the regulation of adult neurogenesis in the olfactory epithelium.
