CHARACTERIZATION OF OLFACTORY RECEPTOR NEURONS AND OTHER CELL-TYPES IN DISSOCIATED RAT OLFACTORY CELL-CULTURES

In dissociated cell cultures, control over the cellular environment fa cilitates study of the differentiation of mature cellular phenotypes. Central to this approach is a rigorous characterization of the cells t hat reside in culture. Therefore, we have used a battery of cell type- specific antibody markers to identify the cell types present in dissoc iated cultures of olfactory mucosal cells (containing cells from;both the epithelium and lamina propria). To identify olfactory receptor neu rons in the cultures, staining with antibodies against neuron-specific tubulin was compared to staining with antibodies to neuron-specific e nolase, the neural cell adhesion molecule, N-CAM, and the adhesion mol ecule, L1. Staining of mature olfactory neurons in culture, with an an tibody against the olfactory marker protein, was compared to staining with antibodies to carnosine. In contrast to tissue section staining, the overlap between carnosine and olfactory marker protein staining wa s not complete. Olfactory nerve glial cells were immunoreactive for th e S100 beta protein and nestin, an intermediate filament found in earl y neuronal progenitor cells and Schwann cells. Antibodies to nestin di d not label olfactory neurons or progenitor cells. An antibody to an o ligodendrocyte-Schwann cell enzyme, 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phospho diesterase, did not label olfactory glia, but did label oligodendrocyt e-like cells that appeared to be derived from the CNS glial feeder lay er. An antibody against the heavy (200 kDa) neurofilament protein stai ned a minor subset of cells. The cultures also contained muscle cells, cartilage cells and macrophages (and/or microglia). These results dem onstrate that multiple cell types either maintain or re-establish diff erentiated, cell type-specific phenotypes in dissociated olfactory cel l cultures. Copyright (C) 1996 ISDN.