Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616, USA.
J Mol Histol. 2012 Dec;43(6):651-60. doi: 10.1007/s10735-012-9443-x. Epub 2012 Sep 4.
Pannexins form membrane channels that release biological signals to communicate with neighboring cells. Here, we report expression patterns of pannexin 1 (Panx1) and pannexin 2 (Panx2) in the olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb of adult mice. In situ hybridization revealed that mRNAs for Panx1 and Panx2 were both expressed in the olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb. Expression of Panx1 and Panx2 was mainly found in cell bodies below the sustentacular cell layer in the olfactory epithelium, indicating that Panx1 and Panx2 are expressed in mature and immature olfactory neurons, and basal cells. Expression of Panx2 was observed in sustentacular cells in a few locations of the olfactory epithelium. In the olfactory bulb, Panx1 and Panx2 were expressed in spatial patterns. Many mitral cells, tufted cells, periglomerular cells and granule cells were Panx1 and Panx2 positive. Mitral cells located at the dorsal and lateral portions of the olfactory bulb showed weak Panx1 expression compared with those in the medial side. However, the opposite was true for the distribution of Panx2 positive mitral cells. There were more Panx2 mRNA positive mitral cells and granule cells compared to those expressing Panx1. Our findings on pannexin expression in the olfactory system of adult mice raise the novel possibility that pannexins play a role in information processing in the olfactory system. Demonstration of expression patterns of pannexins in the olfactory system provides an anatomical basis for future functional studies.
质膜通道由连接蛋白构成，可释放生物信号以与邻近细胞进行通讯。在此，我们报告成年小鼠嗅上皮和嗅球中连接蛋白 1（Panx1）和连接蛋白 2（Panx2）的表达模式。原位杂交显示 Panx1 和 Panx2 的 mRNA 在嗅上皮和嗅球中均有表达。Panx1 和 Panx2 的表达主要位于嗅上皮中支持细胞层下方的细胞体中，表明 Panx1 和 Panx2 表达于成熟和未成熟的嗅神经元和基底细胞中。在嗅上皮的少数部位观察到 Panx2 在支持细胞中的表达。在嗅球中，Panx1 和 Panx2 以空间模式表达。许多僧帽细胞、丛状细胞、肾小球旁细胞和颗粒细胞呈 Panx1 和 Panx2 阳性。与嗅球内侧相比，位于嗅球背侧和外侧的僧帽细胞 Panx1 表达较弱。然而，Panx2 阳性僧帽细胞的分布则相反。与表达 Panx1 的细胞相比，表达 Panx2 的僧帽细胞和颗粒细胞更多。我们在成年小鼠嗅系统中发现连接蛋白的表达，提出了连接蛋白在嗅觉系统信息处理中发挥作用的新可能性。在嗅系统中展示连接蛋白的表达模式为未来的功能研究提供了解剖学基础。
