Skip to main content
. 2006 Sep 27;26(39):9902–9912. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2897-06.2006

Figure 5.

Figure 5.

β-Arrestin2 is redistributed in ORNs during odorant treatment. A–C, β-Arrestin2 redistribution in mouse ORNs after odorant exposure. Fifteen-day-old OMP–GFP mice were exposed or not (control) to a complex odorant mixture of 100 compounds (Henkel 100) for 15 min. Cryosections through the mouse olfactory epithelium were probed with antibodies against β-arrestin2. A, In untreated mice (control), β-arrestin2 was homogeneously distributed throughout the cytoplasm of all cells in the olfactory epithelium, including ORNs (yellow on the overlay). B, Fifteen minutes of exposure to the Henkel 100 mixture (diluted 1:10,000) caused translocation of β-arrestin2 to the dendritic knobs of ORNs as indicated by arrows. C, Treatment of mice with higher concentration of Henkel 100 mixture (1:1000) resulted in increased number of ORNs with β-arrestin2 accumulation in the dendritic knob. D, E, Quantification of the observed effects; three mice from the control and three mice from the exposed group were investigated (4 slices with complete olfactory epithelium per mouse). D, The number of neurons showing strong anti-β-arrestin2 reactivity in the dendritic knob was counted over a 500 μm segment of a 10-μm-thick cryosection from the olfactory epithelium. Error bars represent SEM. E, Quantification of the anti-β-arrestin2 fluorescence intensity in the dendritic knobs of ORNs relative to the fluorescence intensity from OMP–GFP. The comparison of the fluorescence intensities in the dendritic knobs from the ORNs from the control group and the intensities from the group exposed to the lower Henkel 100 concentration demonstrates an approximate sixfold increase. At least 70 neurons from each group were investigated. Error bars represent SD; **p < 0.01. F, Higher-magnification pictures show a redistribution of β-arrestin2 to vesicular structures in the cell bodies (OSN‘s bodies) and in the axons (OSN‘s axons) of ORNs after 2 h odorant treatment. G, After 2 h of odorant treatment (Henkel 100 mixture, 2 h Henkel), β-arrestin2 showed vesicular-like staining in the ORNs as indicated by arrows. Scale bars, 10 μm.