Relationship between olfactory function and olfactory neuronal population in C57BL6 mice injected intraperitoneally with 3‐methylindole

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: It is not known how many olfactory receptor neurons should be intact to maintain olfaction in mouse models treated with 3‐methylindole. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between a simple olfactory test outcome and the olfactory neuronal population.STUDY DESIGN: Mouse model.SETTING: Animal laboratory of the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital.SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Olfactory dysfunction was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 3‐methylindole in 38 six‐week‐old female C57BL6 mice. Olfactory function was evaluated by a food‐finding test following 72‐hour starvation. The olfactory neuronal population was quantified by olfactory marker protein (OMP) expression.RESULTS: The average time for finding food was 8.1 seconds in control mice. It was 13.4, 84.4, 90.1, and 111.4 seconds for mice injected with 100, 200, 300, and 400 μg/g of 3‐methylindole, respectively. Harvesting the whole olfactory neuroepithelium, densitometric analysis showed significant decrease of OMP in the 300‐ and 400‐μg/g groups as compared with controls (18.8% and 17.5% of relative density, respectively). In the olfactory bulb, there was a significant decrease of OMP in the 200‐, 300‐, and 400‐μg/g groups (44.5%, 37.0%, and 9.0% of relative density, respectively). The food‐finding time had a significant reverse correlation with the relative density of OMP both in the olfactory bulb and in the olfactory neuroepithelium.CONCLUSION: Our study showed that olfactory impairment was correlated with olfactory neuronal population in mice treated with 3‐methylindole. The food‐finding test would be a useful tool that could be easily performed without special training in the 3‐methylindole‐treated C57BL6 anosmic mouse model.

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