title: The long tale of the calcium activated Cl-channels in olfactory transduction.
abstract: Ca2+-activated Cl-currents have been implicated in many cellular processes in different cells, but for many years, their molecular identity remained unknown. Particularly intriguing are Ca2+-activated Cl-currents in olfactory transduction, first described in the early 90s. Well characterized electrophysiologically, they carry most of the odorant-induced receptor current in the cilia of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). After many attempts to determine their molecular identity, TMEM16B was found to be abundantly expressed in the cilia of OSNs in 2009 and having biophysical properties like those of the native olfactory channel. A TMEM16B knockout mouse confirmed that TMEM16B was indeed the olfactory Cl-channel but also suggested a limited role in olfactory physiology and behavior. The question then arises of what the precise role of TMEM16b in olfaction is. Here we review the long story of this channel and its possible roles.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sensory Organs , University of Bari A. Moro , Bari , Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3955-4663
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dibattista
authors.affiliation: b Neurobiology Group, SISSA, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati , Trieste , Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3687-3984
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pifferi
authors.affiliation: c Institute of Biophysics, CNR , Genova , Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6219-2285
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boccaccio
authors.affiliation: b Neurobiology Group, SISSA, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati , Trieste , Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9304-0412
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menini
authors.affiliation: d Monell Chemical Senses Center , Philadelphia , PA , USA.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reisert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000075368:Anoctamins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D012903:Smell
chemical_list: C532161:ANO2 protein, mouse; D000075368:Anoctamins; D002118:Calcium
keywords: TMEM16B; calcium activated chloride channels; electrophysiology; olfactory behavior; olfactory transduction