High resolution 2-deoxyglucose localization in olfactory epithelium

Abstract

The olfactory epithelium of the salamander and the mouse has been analyzed for patterns of activity elicited by odor stimulation. A high-resolution adaptation of the 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) method was used, involving freeze-substitution in anhydrous acetone combined with nuclear emulsion autoradiography, according to Sejnowski et al . (1980). In animals exposed to the odor of amyl acetate, the autoradiograms of 2 μg thick sections showed restricted regions of high [ ¹⁴ C]2DG and [ ³ H]2DG uptake. Within these regions, there was a characteristic pattern of diffuse localization in the superficial supranuclear zone; small clumps or strands of grains in the receptor cell nuclei layer; and thick clumps of grains in the basal cell layer. The relation of these patterns of differential odorinduced activity in the cells of the epithelium is discussed.