Peroxidase backfills suggest the mammalian olfactory epithelium contains a second morphologically distinct class of bipolar sensory neuron: the microvillar cell

Abstract

The olfactory epithelium of man, rat and some other mammals consists of 4 cell types: ciliated olfactory receptors, microvillar cells, supporting (sustentacular) cells, and basal cells. Of these, the microvillar cell is least well understood: its function is unknown. In this study, a hypothesis is put forth: that the microvillar cells in the mammalian olfactory epithelium comprise a morphologically distinct class of sensory receptor. The hypothesis is tested by injecting the cytochemical tracer macromolecule horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into the olfactory bulb of the rat, and observing its pattern of uptake in the olfactory epithelium by light and electron microscopy. In these experiments, ciliated olfactory receptors and microvillar cells backfilled with HRP: supporting and basal cells did not. The data, which support the hypothesis, indicate the microvillar cells, along with the ciliated olfactory receptors, send axons to the olfactory bulb. Consequently, it is concluded that the microvillar cell is a sensory bipolar neuron, with the cell body in the olfactory epithelium, that sends a dendrite to the site of stimulus reception at the free surface of the olfactory epithelium, and an axon to the olfactory bulb in the brain. The similarity of microvillar cells in the olfactory epithelium to ‘brush cells’ found throughout the respiratory tract is discussed in detail.