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Expression of Olfactory Receptors in Xenopus Oocytes
Author(s) -
Dahmen Norbert,
Wang HungLi,
Margolis Frank L.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1992.tb09379.x
Subject(s) - xenopus , olfactory epithelium , biology , olfactory system , microbiology and biotechnology , catfish , receptor , olfactory receptor , oocyte , voltage clamp , chloride channel , membrane potential , medicine , neuroscience , biochemistry , embryo , gene , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery
The rat olfactory epithelium and the amino acid‐sensitive catfish olfactory system have been used as models to study the molecular mechanisms of olfactory transduction. Here we report the functional expression of rat and catfish olfactory receptors in Xenopus oocytes injected with mRNA isolated from the respective tissues. Application of odor ligands to injected oocytes, monitored by two‐electrode voltage clamp, activates stimulus‐dependent transmembrane currents that reverse direction at about the chloride equilibrium potential. The currents show characteristic secondary oscillations that are presumed to reflect underlying Ca 2+ oscillations. Similar ligand‐activated membrane currents induced in oocytes after injection of other mRNAs have been shown to be due to activation of endogenous Ca 2+ ‐activated chloride channels. In summary, our results demonstrate the usefulness of the Xenopus oocyte expression system for cloning and characterization of olfactory receptors in both fish and mammalian species.