Understanding the role of the olfactory ensheathing cell in the olfactory sensory system

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/351435

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

The olfactory (smell) system is a unique part of the nervous system; nerve cells are generated throughout life and it can regenerate even after injury. It therefore provides an excellent model for examining the growth, development and maintenance of nerve cells. This project will examine how one specialized type of cell, the olfactory ensheathing cell, helps the nerve cells to grow and regenerate. Information we obtain about how this system develops and regenerates may be useful in treating brain disorders and spinal injuries In the current project we will examine how olfactory nerve cells interact with the ensheathing cells. We will use transgenic mice in which the different cells are marked by separate colours which will allow us to easily identify the cells and see where they grow. In addition, we will also examine the behaviour of live cells as they are growing. In the past all attempts to understand how nerve cell connections are formed in the olfactory system have used dead tissue that has been permanently preserved. In this project we have the unique opportunity to visualise living nerve cells to enable us to determine how the cells interact with the ensheathing cells. The advantage of this approach is that it allows us to identify important interactions as they occur, rather than attempting to decipher them after they have occurred. An analogy would be watching a football game live and observing how goals were scored and appreciating the performance of individual players versus trying to guess from the final score how the game was played and who the key performers were. These experiments will provide important information about how the olfactory ensheathing and nerve cells grow and regenerate.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2005

End Date: 01-01-2007

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $494,000.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Sensory Systems

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

axon guidance | brain damage | brain development | brain growth | neuron-glia interactions | olfactory ensheathing cell | olfactory system

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