Olfactory marker proteins

Buiakova O., Baker H., Scott J., Farbman A., et al. (1996). Olfactory marker protein (OMP) gene deletion causes altered physiological activity of olfactory sensory neurons. Proc Natl Acad Sci 93, 9858-9863. 

Chuah M. and Zheng D. (1987). Olfactory marker protein is present in olfactory receptor cells of human fetuses. Neuroscience 23, 363-370. 

Johnson E.W., Eller P. and Jafek B.W. (1993). An immunoelectron microscopic comparison of olfactory marker protein localization in the supranuclear regions of the rat olfactory epithelium and vomeronasal organ neuroepithelium. Acta Oto-Laryngol 113, 766-771. 

Krishna N., Getchell T.V., Margolis F. and Getchell M.L. (1992). Amphibian olfactory receptor neurons express olfactory marker protein. Brain Res 593, 295-298. 

Rossler P, Mezler M. and Breer H. (1998). Two olfactory marker proteins in Xenopus laevis. J Comp Neurol 395, 273-280. ... 

The first olfactoiy neuron-specific protein, termed olfactory marker protein was isolated by Frank Margolis in 1972 and was cloned in the 1980s. This 19 kDa cytoplasmatic protein is unique to the mature olfactory system and is found in vertebrates from salamanders to humans (reviewed by Margolis et ah, 1993). 

One thousand or more different olfactory receptors transmit their signals through the axons of olfactory neurons. Olfactory neurons are clustered in the olfactory epithelium, and project their axons to a small number of topographically fixed loci, the omeruli, in the olfactory bulb of the brain, where the information is processed. Each individual glomerulus in the olfactory bulb apparently corresponds to a distinct type of receptor. Olfactory neurons have specific marker proteins (OMP, olfactory marker protein) which have facilitated the localization of olfactory neurons. 

Fig. 1 Molecular neuroanatomy of the zebrafish olfactory epithelium, a The zebrafish olfactory rosette, b A section of the olfactory rosette hybridized with an olfactory marker protein (OMP) complementary RNA probe. Dark signals represent ciliated olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) in the olfactory epithelium (OE). c Three types of olfactory sensory neurons in fish, d Distinct locations and molecular signatures of ciliated and microvillous OSNs. The ciliated OSNs locate in a...

Olfactory Marker Protein ORNs express high levels of olfactory marker protein (OMP), which is unique in the olfactory system to ORNs (Margolis, 1972 Keller and Margolis, 1975). OMP is found in a number of mammalian species and it appears to be expressed in all mature ORNs. Studies in mice containing a null mutation for OMP suggest that this protein may play a role in ORN adaptation to odors (Ivic et al., 2000), signal amplification, and transduction (Youngentob et al., 2004). 

Keller A, Margolis FL. 1975. Immunological studies of the rat olfactory marker protein. J Neurochem 24 1101-1106. 

Smith RL, Baker H, Kolstad K, Spencer DD, Greer CA. 1991. Localization of tyrosine hydroxylase and olfactory marker protein immunoreactivities in the human and cacaque olfactory bulb. Brain Res 548 140-148. 

Fig. 3. Glomeruli. Photomicrographs of the main olfactory bulb showing the glomeruli that are especially well visualized by A. immunohistochemical staining with an antibody to olfactory marker protein (OMP) or B. histochemistry using cytochrome oxidase.

Farbman, A.l. and Margolis, F.L, (1980) Olfactory marker protein during ontogeny immunohistoehemical localization. Dev. Biol, 74, 205-215. 

The glomemlar layer of the AOB can be divided into anterior and posterior (rostral and caudal) halves on the basis of their chemoarchitecture (Halpem et al., 1995) the anterior stains more darkly than the posterior when treated with the lectin VVA Vicia villosa agglutinin) (Shapiro et al., 1995), NADPH-diaphorase (Shapiro and Halpem, 1998), and antibodies to olfactory marker protein (OMP) (Shnayder et al., 1993) and the G-protein Gi2-aipha (Halpem et al., 1995). The posterior half is selectively stained by Gq. alpha antibodies (Halpem et al., 1995 Jia and Halpem, 1996). A retrograde HRP labeling study has suggested, and another using immunohistochemical technique has confirmed, that these halves receive projections from distinct laminae of the VNO (Jia and Halpem, 1996 Shapiro et al., 1995). 

Figure 1. A. Sagittal section of the anterior telencephalon stained with antibody to olfactory marker protein. Ant=anterior AOB, AOB=accessory olfactory bulb, FCx=frontal cortex, MOB=main olfactory bulb, Post=posterior AOB. Rostral is to the left. B. Vomeronasal organ stained by the NissI method. Bv=blood vessel, Lu=lumen, S=septum arrows point to sensory epithelium.

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