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Recent progress in the neurobiology of the vomeronasal organ
- Source :
- Microscopy Research and Technique. 58:228
- Publication Year :
- 2002
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2002.
-
Abstract
- In many terrestrial tetrapodes, a pair of vomeronasal organs (VNOs), which are chemosensory apparatuses, are situated at the base of the nasal septum in the anterior nasal cavity. The purposes of this review are to summarize comparative neuroanatomy and to introduce recent progress in neurobiological studies of the VNO. Five types of VNOs can be identifiable in terms of anatomical organization; snakes possess the most complex one. Sensory cells in the VNO, vomeronasal receptor neurons (VRNs), are located in its neuroepithelium, vomeronassal sensory epithelium. The VRNs retain the characteristic of epithelial cells in that they are born continuously from progenitor cells. They contain two prominent subcellular structures: microvilli and extraordinarily large amounts of smooth endoplasmic reticulum and a few unique glycoconjugates. The VRNs express two types of G-protein -subunits: Gi(alpha2) and Go(alpha) and each of them is coupled with putative pheromone receptors, V1Rs and V2Rs, respectively. Recent physiological and biochemical studies have demonstrated that pheromones depolarize the V1R-Gi(alpha2) and V2R-Go(alpha) VRNs via IP(3)-mediated mechanisms. The VRNs do not show adaptation and are ultrasensitive to putative pheromones. Other than being a chemosensory organ, the VNO and its primordium might play important roles for brain development; hypothalamic neurons that produce gonadotropin-releasing hormone are born in the VNO primordium and a few other neuron-like cells may be born in the VNO primordium and VNO. In human fetuses, anatomical findings strongly suggest that their VNOs contain a neuroepithelium. By contrast, it is unlikely that adult human VNO serves as a chemosensory organ.
- Subjects :
- Histology
Vomeronasal organ
Endoplasmic reticulum
Sensory system
Biology
Neuroepithelial cell
Medical Laboratory Technology
Vomeronasal receptor
medicine.anatomical_structure
Neurobiology
medicine
Animals
Humans
Pheromone
Primordium
sense organs
Vomeronasal Organ
Anatomy
Instrumentation
Neuroscience
Neuroanatomy
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10970029 and 1059910X
- Volume :
- 58
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Microscopy Research and Technique
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....fd8d1b8a92ce68692d5f19f59d8878a1