Signal recognition and chemoelectrical transduction in olfaction |
| |
Authors: | Heinz Breer |
| |
Institution: | Institute of Zoophysiology, University Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 30, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany |
| |
Abstract: | The mimicking of olfaction is considered to be a promising approach for the construction of artificial odour-sensing systems. In the nose, the detection of volatile odorants begins when the odorant ligands interact with specific odorant receptors in the ciliary membrane of the olfactory neurons. A large family of genes encoding putative odorant receptors has been identified recently. Individual receptor types are expressed in subsets of cells distributed in distinct zones of the olfactory epithelium. Ligand-receptor interaction triggers a rapid multistep reaction cascade, resulting in a “pulse” of second messengers that initiates an electrical response from the receptor neuron. Olfactory signalling is terminated by phosphorylation of receptors via a negative feedback reaction, catalyzed by specific kinases. |
| |
Keywords: | receptors expression second messenger desensitization |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|