Snapshots in Neuroscience: Zebrafish Olfactory Rosette

These images have been selected to showcase the art that neuroscience research can create.

As described by the authors: “This image shows a section of the zebrafish olfactory organ, showcasing the olfactory epithelium highlighting olfactory sensory neurons (green, HuC/D) and leukocytes (red, Lcp1). Depicted in blue are nuclei labeled with DAPI, showcasing the characteristic flower-like arrangement of the olfactory lamellae that gives this organ its name: the olfactory rosette. Of particular interest are the Lcp1-positive leukocytes located mostly along the outer epithelial folds with some leukocytes infiltrating the neuron-rich sensory layers as a response to hypoxic insult.

“In our study, we found that brief exposure to severe hypoxia causes transient olfactory dysfunction accompanied by degeneration of the olfactory epithelium (seen here in green) and robust leukocyte recruitment (seen in red) to sensory and nonsensory regions of the olfactory lamellae. Given the remarkable repair and neuroregenerative abilities of zebrafish, olfactory function and epithelial organization are completely restored within 5 d, coinciding with resolution of the inflammatory response. These findings reveal a coordinated response to low oxygen within the olfactory system and provide insight into regenerative processes in the adult vertebrate nervous system.

“Immunostaining was performed on 10 μm sections of the dissected olfactory organ. The image was acquired with a 20× objective on a Nikon A1 confocal microscope.”

Confocal fluorescence image of a zebrafish olfactory rosette immunostained for HuC/D to label olfactory sensory neurons (green) and Lcp1 to label leukocytes (red), with DAPI-stained nuclei shown in blue. Image credit: Kate DeMann.

Read the full article:

Acute Hypoxia Induces Transient Olfactory Dysfunction through Olfactory Epithelial Degeneration and Bulbar Mitochondrial Stress in Zebrafish
Skylar L. DeWitt, Kate E. DeMann, Cameron J. Houck, Cassidy L. Larson, Luke A. Horsburgh, Evan A. Thomas, Liz Sanchez, and Erika Calvo-Ochoa