PMID- 19221803 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20091103 LR - 20191210 IS - 1432-0878 (Electronic) IS - 0302-766X (Linking) VI - 336 IP - 1 DP - 2009 Apr TI - Amphibian larvae and zinc sulphate: a suitable model to study the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the neuronal turnover of the olfactory epithelium. PG - 1-9 LID - 10.1007/s00441-009-0752-7 [doi] AB - The vertebrate olfactory system has fascinated neurobiologists over the last six decades because of its ability to replace its neurons and synaptic connections continuously throughout adult life, under both physiological and pathological conditions. Among the factors that are proposed to be involved in this regenerative potential, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a candidate for having an important role in the neuronal turnover in the olfactory epithelium (OE) because of its well-documented neurogenic and trophic effects throughout the nervous system. The aim of the present study was to generate a suitable model to study the participation of BDNF in the recovery of the OE after injury in vivo. We developed an experimental design in which the OE of Rhinella arenarum tadpoles could be easily and selectively damaged by immersing the animals in ZnSO(4) solutions of various concentrations for differing time periods. Image analysis of histological sections showed that different combinations of each of these conditions produced statistically different degrees of injury to the olfactory tissue. We also observed that the morphology of the OE was restored within a few days of recovery after ZnSO(4) treatment. Immunohistochemical analysis of BDNF was performed with an antiserum whose specificity was confirmed by Western blotting, and which showed drastic changes in the abundance and distribution pattern of this neurotrophin in the damaged olfactory system. Our results thus suggest that BDNF is involved in the regeneration of the OE of amphibian larvae, and that our approach is suitable for further investigations of this topic. FAU - Yovanovich, Carola A M AU - Yovanovich CA AD - Laboratorio de Biologia del Desarrollo, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biologia Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IFIBYNE-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Republica Argentina. FAU - Jungblut, Lucas D AU - Jungblut LD FAU - Heer, Tamara AU - Heer T FAU - Pozzi, Andrea G AU - Pozzi AG FAU - Paz, Dante A AU - Paz DA LA - eng PT - Evaluation Study PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20090217 PL - Germany TA - Cell Tissue Res JT - Cell and tissue research JID - 0417625 RN - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) RN - 7733-02-0 (Zinc Sulfate) SB - IM MH - Amphibians/embryology/growth & development/*physiology MH - Animals MH - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/*physiology MH - Cell Proliferation/drug effects MH - Embryo, Nonmammalian MH - Larva/*drug effects/physiology MH - Models, Animal MH - Models, Biological MH - Nerve Regeneration/physiology MH - Neurons/drug effects/*physiology MH - Olfactory Mucosa/drug effects/injuries/metabolism/*physiology MH - Olfactory Nerve/drug effects/physiology MH - Random Allocation MH - Zinc Sulfate/*toxicity EDAT- 2009/02/18 09:00 MHDA- 2009/11/05 06:00 CRDT- 2009/02/18 09:00 PHST- 2008/09/18 00:00 [received] PHST- 2009/01/08 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2009/02/18 09:00 [entrez] PHST- 2009/02/18 09:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2009/11/05 06:00 [medline] AID - 10.1007/s00441-009-0752-7 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Cell Tissue Res. 2009 Apr;336(1):1-9. doi: 10.1007/s00441-009-0752-7. Epub 2009 Feb 17.