Integration of the Peripheral and Central Nervous System During Development of the Murine Olfactory Nerve

Abstract

The need to develop therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and spinal cord injuries has led researchers to study the primary olfactory system, as it continuously renews itself throughout life, and completely regenerates after injury. A pool of cells that line the basal surface of the olfactory epithelium gives rise to new olfactory neurons both during normal olfactory nervous system turnover and to a greater extent following injury. The unique, growth promoting olfactory system environment is crucial for this neurogenesis and regeneration. Significantly glial scarring (as is typically seen in neurodegeneration and neural damage elsewhere in the nervous system) is largely absent following injury to the olfactory tract. Thus replicating the favourable condition in the olfactory nervous system would be invaluable for developing these successful therapies. If we can mimic the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for maintenance andregeneration of the olfactory neurons, we can promote regeneration and facilitate the reestablishment of connectivity in damaged neural tracts. To model neural regeneratio n strategies in the olfactory nervous system we need to understand the normal olfactory system biology.