Abstract
The olfactory system is responsible for transducing a wide variety of odorant stimuli into neuronal action potentials. Biochemical evidence suggests that the initial events of signal transduction are mediated by a stimulatory receptor-G-protein-coupled adenylyl cyclase cascade within the cilia of the olfactory sensory neurons (Pace et al. 1985; Sklar et al. 1986). Recently, cyclic-nucleotide-gated channels that open in response to increasing concentrations of cAMP have been identified in patch-clamp recording studies of olfactory cilia (Nakamura and Gold 1987). Together, these observations imply a model for olfactory signal transduction in which odorants cause a local increase in ciliary cAMP concentration, leading to the opening of cation channels within the ciliary membrane and depolarization of the sensory cell. This depolarization then elicits an action potential in the axonal process leading to the olfactory bulb.
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