title: Nitric oxide synthase activity in the olfactory bulb of anuran and urodele amphibians.
abstract: Nitric oxide synthase activity was studied by means of NADPH-diaphorase activity and nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in the main and accessory olfactory bulbs of the frog Rana perezi and the newt Triturus marmoratus. In both species, NADPH-diaphorase staining was observed in all olfactory fibers. Vomeronasal fibers were NADPH-diaphorase-positive in Triturus but they were NADPH-diaphorase-negative in Rana. Nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity was not observed in the primary afferents in any case. Granule cells were NADPH-diaphorase-positive and nitric oxide synthase-immunopositive in the main and accessory olfactory bulb of Rana, and in the main olfactory bulb of Triturus. The homogeneous NADPH-diaphorase staining of olfactory fibers is similar to what has been reported in teleosts, and it contrasts with the spatial segregation of NADPH-diaphorase-positive and -negative olfactory projections in rodents. These results confirm the interspecies variability of the NADPH-diaphorase/nitric oxide synthase distribution in the olfactory system of vertebrates.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Celular y Patología, Universidad de Salamanca, Facultad de Medicina, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porteros
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arévalo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crespo
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Briñón
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weruaga
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aijón
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Alonso
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000201:enzymology; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D009833:Olfactory Pathways; D011898:Ranidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014319:Triturus / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
chemical_list: D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase