title: Olfaction in three genetic and two MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease mouse models.
abstract: Various genetic or toxin-induced mouse models are frequently used for investigation of early PD pathology. Although olfactory impairment is known to precede motor symptoms by years, it is not known whether it is caused by impairments in the brain, the olfactory epithelium, or both. In this study, we investigated the olfactory function in three genetic Parkinson's disease (PD) mouse models and mice treated with MPTP intraperitoneally and intranasally. To investigate olfactory function, we performed electro-olfactogram recordings (EOGs) and an olfactory behavior test (cookie-finding test). We show that neither a parkin knockout mouse strain, nor intraperitoneal MPTP treated animals display any olfactory impairment in EOG recordings and the applied behavior test. We also found no difference in the responses of the olfactory epithelium to odorants in a mouse strain over-expressing doubly mutated α-synuclein, while this mouse strain was not suitable to test olfaction in a cookie-finding test as it displays a mobility impairment. A transgenic mouse expressing mutated α-synuclein in dopaminergic neurons performed equal to control animals in the cookie-finding test. Further we show that intranasal MPTP application can cause functional damage of the olfactory epithelium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Physiology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurtenbach
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wewering
authors.forename: Hanns
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hatt
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Neuhaus
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lübbert
mesh_terms: D015632:1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation; D009812:Odorants; D009831:Olfactory Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010302:Parkinson Disease, Secondary / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics*; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D015632:1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; C111567:parkin protein