Summary
Protein tracers (albumin labelled with Evans blue and horseradish peroxidase) were instilled through the nostrils into the nasal cavities of mice. At varying time intervals thereafter the olfactory epithelium, nerves and bulbs were examined with regard to the cytological localization of the tracers. Light and fluorescence microscopy revealed that the tracers rapidly accumulated in epithelial cells, including nerve cells of the mucosa. This was confirmed ultrastructurally. Peroxidase was found in small vesicles in the bulbous apical endings of the dendrites, which extend beyond the free surface of the epithelium. Both tracers were also seen in the submucosa, fila olfactoria, olfactory glomeruli and leptomeninges around the olfactory bulbs.
The sensory nerve cells in the olfactory epithelium of mice, therefore, have the capacity to take up protein tracers from the nasal cavities. Exogenous proteins can reach the olfactory bulbs from the nasal cavities.
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Kristensson, K., Olsson, Y. Uptake of exogenous proteins in mouse olfactory cells. Acta Neuropathol 19, 145–154 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688493
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688493