Impaired sense of smell and altered olfactory system in RAG-1−∕− immunodeficient mice
Author(s)
Rattazzi, L
Cariboni, A
Poojara, R
Shoenfeld, Y
D'Acquisto, F
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Immune deficiencies are often associated with a number of physical manifestations including loss of sense of smell and an increased level of anxiety. We have previously shown that T and B cell-deficient recombinase activating gene (RAG-1)(-∕-) knockout mice have an increased level of anxiety-like behavior and altered gene expression involved in olfaction. In this study, we expanded these findings by testing the structure and functional development of the olfactory system in RAG-1 (-∕-) mice. Our results show that these mice have a reduced engagement in different types of odors and this phenotype is associated with disorganized architecture of glomerular tissue and atrophy of the main olfactory epithelium. Most intriguingly this defect manifests specifically in adult age and is not due to impairment in the patterning of the olfactory neuron staining at the embryo stage. Together these findings provide a formerly unreported biological evidence for an altered function of the olfactory system in RAG-1 (-∕-) mice.
Date Issued
2015-09-09
Date Acceptance
2015-08-27
Citation
Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2015, 9
ISSN
1662-4548
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Neuroscience
Volume
9
Copyright Statement
© 2015 Rattazzi, Cariboni, Poojara, Shoenfeld and D'Acquisto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
License URL
Subjects
anxiety
immunodeficiency
immunosuppression
main and accessory olfactory system (MOS and AOS)
main olfactory epithelium (MOE)
olfactory dysfunction
1109 Neurosciences
1702 Cognitive Science
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
318