Halpern M, Shapiro L S, Jia C
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn 11203, USA.
Chem Senses. 1998 Aug;23(4):477-81. doi: 10.1093/chemse/23.4.477.
The mammalian accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) is chemoarchitecturally heterogeneous in that it stains differentially with a number of markers; the receptor cells that project to the AOB are similarly heterogeneous. What is the significance of this heterogeneity? We have found that the AOB of the gray, short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, stains differentially with a number of 'markers': antibodies to olfactory marker protein (OMP) and the alpha subunit of the G protein Gi2, the lectin of Vicia villosa and NADPH-diaphorase. These markers stain the rostral AOB more strongly than the caudal AOB whereas, the G protein subunit G(o) alpha is located predominantly in the posterior subdivision of the AOB. This heterogeneity in the chemoarchitecture of the AOB may reflect a fundamental organizational dichotomy within the vomeronasal system that corresponds to a functional dichotomy. The vomeronasal sensory epithelium also exhibits a chemoarchitectural heterogeneity: receptor cells in the basal third are G(o) alpha-immunoreactive whereas the cells in the middle third are Gi2 alpha-immunoreactive. Tracing studies using WGA-HRP demonstrate that the neurons in the middle third of the vomeronasal sensory epithelium project their axons to the anterior AOB whereas those in the basal third appear to project to the posterior AOB.
哺乳动物的副嗅球（AOB）在化学结构上具有异质性，因为它对多种标记物有不同的染色反应；投射到AOB的受体细胞同样具有异质性。这种异质性有什么意义呢？我们发现，灰色短尾负鼠（Monodelphis domestica）的AOB对多种“标记物”有不同的染色反应：针对嗅觉标记蛋白（OMP）和G蛋白Gi2的α亚基的抗体、绒毛豌豆凝集素和NADPH-黄递酶。这些标记物对吻侧AOB的染色比对尾侧AOB更强，而G蛋白亚基G(o)α主要位于AOB的后部分区。AOB化学结构的这种异质性可能反映了犁鼻器系统内一种基本的组织二分法，这与功能二分法相对应。犁鼻器感觉上皮也表现出化学结构的异质性：基部三分之一的受体细胞对G(o)α呈免疫反应，而中间三分之一的细胞对Gi2α呈免疫反应。使用WGA-HRP进行的追踪研究表明，犁鼻器感觉上皮中间三分之一的神经元将其轴突投射到吻侧AOB，而基部三分之一的神经元似乎投射到尾侧AOB。
