Work

The Chemistry of Olfactory Reception: Stimulus-Specific Protection from Sulfhydryl Reagent Inhibition

Year: 1972

Type: article

Abstract: The group-specific protein reagent, N-ethylmaleimide, irreversibly blocks the electrical response of the olfactory receptor organ of the frog to odorous stimuli. If the odorous substance, ethyl n-butyrate, in concentrations high enough to saturate the receptor system, is present in the nasal cavity before and during a brief exposure to N-ethylmaleimide, the nose, after a wash and a recovery period, responds in nearly normal fashion to vapors of ethyl n-butyrate. Responses to other odorous substances, except those closely related to ethyl n-butyrate, are abolished. We propose that we can use this protection technique to identify the properties of the various receptor sites in the nose, and possibly to characterize the receptor substances.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.69.6.1494

Authors: Marilyn Levisohn Getchell, Robert C. Gesteland

Institutions: Northwestern University, Monell Chemical Senses Center, University of Pennsylvania

Language: English

Topic: Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies

Subfield: Sensory Systems

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Air Force

OpenAlex ID: W1999557061