Search results for "Chemoreceptor Cells"
showing 10 items of 14 documents
Functional Gustatory Role of Chemoreceptors in Drosophila Wings
2016
Summary: Neuroanatomical evidence argues for the presence of taste sensilla in Drosophila wings; however, the taste physiology of insect wings remains hypothetical, and a comprehensive link to mechanical functions, such as flight, wing flapping, and grooming, is lacking. Our data show that the sensilla of the Drosophila anterior wing margin respond to both sweet and bitter molecules through an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ levels. Conversely, genetically modified flies presenting a wing-specific reduction in chemosensory cells show severe defects in both wing taste signaling and the exploratory guidance associated with chemodetection. In Drosophila, the chemodetection machinery includes mechan…
Autonomic cardiac regulation in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: evidence from spontaneous baroreflex analysis during sleep
1997
Objective. To assess spontaneous baroreceptor-heart rate reflex sensitivity during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, a condition associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and characterized by marked sympathetic activation, which is believed to originate from hypoxic chemoreceptor stimulation, although little is known of other possible mechanisms such as baroreflex impairment. Design and methods. In 11 patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (mean ± SD age 46.8 ± 8.1 years, apnea/hypopnea index 67.9 ± 19.1 h), who were normotensive or borderline hypertensive during wakefulness by clinic blood pressure measurements, finger blood pres…
Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases in the carotid body: an immunohistochemical study
2012
We determined the presence of Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaMKs), a family of multifunctional proteins engaged in Ca(2+)-linked signaling, in carotid body chemoreceptor cells which are critical for the hypoxia-sensing. Carotid bodies were dissected from anesthetized normoxic adult Wistar rats and were double stained for individual CaMKs and for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a marker of chemoreceptor cells. Immunofluorescence was examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy. We found that CaMKI and CaMKII were expressed in chemoreceptor cells, but their distribution and intensity varied. CaMKI immunoreactivity was distributed throughout the cytoplasm, whereas that of CaMKII w…
The role of cuticular pheromones in courtship conditioning of Drosophila males
2005
1072-0502 (Print) Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; Courtship conditioning is an associative learning paradigm in Drosophila melanogaster, wherein male courtship behavior is modified by experience with unreceptive, previously mated females. While the training experience with mated females involves multiple sensory and behavioral interactions, we hypothesized that female cuticular hydrocarbons function as a specific chemosensory conditioned stimulus in this learning paradigm. The effects of training with mated females were determined in courtship tests with either wild-type virgin females as courtship targets, or with…
Sex-specific non-pheromonal taste receptors in Drosophila
2000
0960-9822 (Print) Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Taste receptors have recently been reported in Drosophila [1,2], but little is known of the relation between receptor and response. Morphological studies of the distribution of chemosensory sensilla indicate that the fruit fly has two major sites of gustation: the proboscis and the legs [3]. The taste sensilla on both these sites are similar in structure and each sensillum generally houses four gustatory neurons [4]. Early anatomical observations have demonstrated a sexual dimorphism in the number of tarsal sensilla [5] and in their central projections [6]. We measured the electrophysiological responses of the prothoracic t…
Convergence of olfactory and vomeronasal projections in the rat basal telencephalon
2007
Olfactory and vomeronasal projections have been traditionally viewed as terminating in contiguous non-overlapping areas of the basal telencephalon. Original reports, however, described areas such as the anterior medial amygdala where both chemosensory afferents appeared to overlap. We addressed this issue by injecting dextran amines in the main or accessory olfactory bulbs of rats and the results were analyzed with light and electron microscopes. Simultaneous injections of different fluorescent dextran amines in the main and accessory olfactory bulbs were performed and the results were analyzed using confocal microscopy. Similar experiments with dextran amines in the olfactory bulbs plus Fl…
Tormogen cell and receptor-lymph space in insect olfactory sensilla. Fine structure and histochemical properties in Calliphora.
1978
(1) The basiconic sensilla on the antennae of Calliphora resemble other insect epidermal sensilla; one or several bipolar sense cells are surrounded by three non-neural cells. (2) The apical cell membrane of the tormogen cell (one of the three accessory cells) forms microvilli coated internally with particles. (3) In the (extracellular) outer receptor-lymph space hyaluronic acid can be demonstrated histochemically. (4) Demonstration of non-specific alkaline phosphatase, Mg2+-activated ATPase, and the presence of mitochondria in the apical part of the tormogen cell suggest active transport processes through these cells into the outer receptor-lymph space.
The NMR structure of the sensory domain of the membranous two-component fumarate sensor (histidine protein kinase) DcuS of Escherichia coli
2003
The structure of the water-soluble, periplasmic domain of the fumarate sensor DcuS (DcuS-pd) has been determined by NMR spectroscopy in solution. DcuS is a prototype for a sensory histidine kinase with transmembrane signal transfer. DcuS belongs to the CitA family of sensors that are specific for sensing di- and tricarboxylates. The periplasmic domain is folded autonomously and shows helices at the N and the C terminus, suggesting direct linking or connection to helices in the two transmembrane regions. The structure constitutes a novel fold. The nearest structural neighbor is the Per-Arnt-Sim domain of the photoactive yellow protein that binds small molecules covalently. Residues Arg107, H…
Neural substrates for processing chemosensory information in snakes.
2002
Snakes interact with their chemical environment through their olfactory and vomeronasal systems. The present report summarizes advances on neural substrates for processing chemosensory information. First, the efferent and centrifugal afferent connections of the main and accessory olfactory bulbs were reinvestigated. Second, the afferent and efferent connections of the nucleus sphericus, the main target of the accessory olfactory bulb, were characterized. The nucleus sphericus gives rise to a very small projection to the hypothalamus, but it does project to other telencephalic structures where olfactory and vomeronasal information could converge. Third, the intra-amygdaloid circuitry and the…
Organization of the ophidian amygdala: chemosensory pathways to the hypothalamus.
1999
Although recent studies in squamate reptiles have importantly clarified how chemical information is processed in the reptilian brain, how the amygdala relays chemosensory inputs to the hypothalamus to influence chemically guided behaviors is still poorly documented. To identify these chemosensory pathways, the amygdalo-hypothalamic projections, intra-amygdaloid circuitry and afferents from the lateral cortex (LC) to the amygdala were investigated by injecting conjugated dextran-amines into the hypothalamus, amygdala, and LC of garter snakes. The amygdala was divided into olfactory recipient (ventral anterior and external amygdalae), vomeronasal recipient (nucleus sphericus, NS, and medial a…