Odor increases [3H]phorbol dibutyrate binding to protein kinase C in olfactory structures of rat brain. Effect of entorhinal cortex lesion.

Since protein kinase C (PKC) is known to be activated in the olfactory bulb and in several limbic areas related to odor processing, we determined whether an olfactory stimulus was able to modulate the activity of PKC in animals with bilateral entorhinal cortex lesion. The translocation of PKC from the cytosol to the membrane was studied using the phorbol ester 12,13-dibutyrate ([3H]PDBu) binding in control and bilateral entorhinal cortex (EC) lesioned rats. The lesion of EC per se did not significantly affect [3H]PDBu binding in any of the brain structures analyzed, while odor stimulation induced it in both control and EC-lesioned groups in the external plexiform layer of the olfactory bulb.