Endothelin increases the proliferation of rat olfactory mucosa cells.

The olfactory mucosa holds olfactory sensory neurons directly in contact with an aggressive environment. In order to maintain its integrity, it is one of the few neural zones which are continuously renewed during the whole animal life. Among several factors regulating this renewal, endothelin acts as an anti-apoptotic factor in the rat olfactory epithelium.

IL-17c is involved in olfactory mucosa responses to Poly(I:C) mimicking virus presence.

At the interface of the environment and the nervous system, the olfactory mucosa (OM) is a privileged pathway for environmental toxicants and pathogens towards the central nervous system. The OM is known to produce antimicrobial and immunological components but the mechanisms of action of the immune system on the OM remain poorly explored. IL-17c is a potent mediator of respiratory epithelial innate immune responses, whose receptors are highly expressed in the OM of mice.

Sexual responses of male rats to odours from female rats in oestrus are not affected by female germ-free status.

Rats detect and use odorant molecules as a source of information about their environment. Some of these molecules come from conspecifics, and many arise as by-products from microbial activity. Thus, compared to conventionally housed rats, germ-free rats are raised in an environment with fewer odorants, but this reduction is rarely quantified.

Where is the TMT? GC-MS analyses of fox feces and behavioral responses of rats to fear-inducing odors.

TMT (2,5-dihydro-2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline) is known as a component of fox feces inducing fear in rodents. However, no recent chemical analyses of fox feces are available, and few studies make direct comparisons between TMT and fox feces. Fox feces from 3 individuals were used to prepare 24 samples to be analyzed for the presence of TMT using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Behavioural response of sexually naïve and experienced male rats to the smell of 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one and female rat faeces.

Sexually experienced male rats display penile erections when exposed to faeces from mammalian females in oestrus (Rampin et al., Behav Brain Res, 172:169, 2006), suggesting that specific odours indicate female receptiveness across species. However, it is unknown to what extent the sexual response observed results from an odorous conditioning acquired during sexual experience.

Brain processing of biologically relevant odors in the awake rat, as revealed by manganese-enhanced MRI.

Background: So far, an overall view of olfactory structures activated by natural biologically relevant odors in the awake rat is not available. Manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) is appropriate for this purpose. While MEMRI has been used for anatomical labeling of olfactory pathways, functional imaging analyses have not yet been performed beyond the olfactory bulb.

A mixture of odorant molecules potentially indicating oestrus in mammals elicits penile erections in male rats.

A common set of odorous molecules may indicate female receptiveness across species, as male rats display sexual arousal when exposed to the odour of oestrous faeces from rats, vixens and mares. More than 900 different compounds were identified by GC-MS analyses performed on faeces samples from di-oestrous and oestrous females and from males of the three species. Five carboxylic acids were found in lower concentrations in faeces from all oestrous females.