RNA profiles of rat olfactory epithelia : individual and age related variations (age experiment)

Conclusions: Not all OR genes are expressed at a detectable level. Pups expressed fewer OR genes than adult rats, and generally at a lower level; however, a small subset of OR genes were more strongly expressed in these newborn rats. The reasons for these differences are not understood. However, the specific expression of some OR genes in newborn olfactory epithelia may be related to the blindness and deafness of pups at birth, when these pups are heavily reliant on olfaction and their mother.结论：并非所有嗅觉受体（Olfactory Receptor, OR）基因均可达到可检测的表达水平。相较于成年大鼠，新生幼崽的OR基因表达量更少，且整体表达水平普遍偏低；但有一小部分OR基因在这些新生大鼠体内的表达反而更强。目前尚未明确造成这些表达差异的原因。不过，部分OR基因在新生大鼠嗅觉上皮（olfactory epithelium）中的特异性表达，可能与幼崽出生时的失明与失聪状态相关——此时幼崽高度依赖嗅觉与母鼠进行生存活动。