A change in early olfactory experience can have profound affects on the number of neurons that survive during development. Enhanced sensory experience during early post-natal development can induce an increase in olfactory bulb neurons, and early olfactory restriction stimulates cell death in a population of olfactory bulb neurons. Thus, changes in sensory stimulation may induce or suppress apoptosis during development and influence the number of neurons in target tissues. In other systems, Bcl-2 has been shown to be a protein that blocks apoptotic cell death, and in the olfactory bulk, the mRNA for BCL-2 is elevated in oder-restricted postnatal rat olfactory bulbs. The proposed experiments will test the hypothesis that there is an increase in apoptotic cell death in odor-restricted rat and mouse pups. Other experiments will test the hypothesis that the Bcl-2 protein plays a critical role in either protecting or promoting normal cell death during development and increased cell death induced by early olfactory restriction. Additional experiments will test the hypothesis that a reduction in cell death during enhanced early olfactory experience occurs during a mechanism mediated by the Bcl-2 protein family.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01DC003840-01
Application #
2704486
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-HAR (01))
Project Start
1998-09-01
Project End
2003-08-31
Budget Start
1998-09-01
Budget End
1999-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1998
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Irvine
Department
Biology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
161202122
City
Irvine
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92697
Woo, Cynthia C; Hingco, Edna E; Johnson, Brett A et al. (2007) Broad activation of the glomerular layer enhances subsequent olfactory responses. Chem Senses 32:51-5
Woo, Cynthia C; Hingco, Edna E; Taylor, Gordon E et al. (2006) Exposure to a broad range of odorants decreases cell mortality in the olfactory bulb. Neuroreport 17:817-21
Yan, X X; Najbauer, J; Woo, C C et al. (2001) Expression of active caspase-3 in mitotic and postmitotic cells of the rat forebrain. J Comp Neurol 433:4-22