At present, it remains poorly understood how the olfactory neuron migrates through the thick neuroepithelium during its maturation from a stem cell and how it develops a specific sensitivity to environmental odorants after maturation. We investigated the cytochemical features associated with the development of olfactory cells before and after the incorporation of dendrites into the surface of the olfactory epithelium. Using cytochemical staining for the actin cytoskeleton and other cell components, we found that immature neurons acquire a streamlined shape that resembles a «hot-dog» during their migration: a dense layer of actin microfilaments forms beneath the surface membrane of the growing dendrite, and the bulk of the nuclear material moves inside this layer. We have found that when the cell makes contact with its environment, the dendritic terminal develops a wide actin layer, inside which a pore is formed. It is assumed that the functional receptors of odorants generate across this pore the first intracellular signal from environmental water-soluble odorants. These data illustrate the important role of the cytoskeleton in the differentiation of olfactory cells.

Cross-correlation functions were used to study the time delay (a measure of synchronization) in the appearance of epileptic discharges in distant areas of the cortex in the intact cortex and in neuronally isolated cortical strips in Wistar rats. Experiments were performed at different stages of axon sprouting 30 and 90 days after isolation of cortical areas and in intact cortex. Significant increases in the number of synapses in layer V of isolated cortical strips at 30 days correlated with significant decreases in the time delay, while decreases in the number of synapses at 90 days correlated with a significant increase in the time delay. This is evidence that newly formed synapses increase the extent of synchronization and thus affect epileptogenesis. The data obtained here suggest that large pyramidal cells in layer V of the rat neocortex form a neural network in pathological conditions, this supporting intracortical synchronization of epileptic discharges.

It was previously shown that activation of the processes of neurogenesis in the olfactory epithelium (OE) can be caused after intranasal administration of toxic or neurotrophic factors, after axon transection, or as a result of bulbectomy. Our study showed for the first time that a significant increase in olfactory cell renewal can also occur in animals due to periodic chemostimulation with natural odorants (amino acids and peptides) for 15 days. Using electron and laser confocal microscopy in fish (Paracottus knerii (Cottidae), Dybowski, 1874) from Lake Baikal, we showed that periodic stimulation of aquatic organisms with a water-soluble mixture of amino acids and peptides causes stress in OE, which leads to programmed death cells and compensatory intensification of their renewal. We estimated the level of reactive oxygen species, number of functionally active mitochondria, intensity of apoptosis processes, and mitosis activity of cells in the OE of fish in the control group and after periodic natural odorants exposure. This study showed that new stem cells are activated during enhanced odor stimulation and subsequent degenerative changes in the cells of the sensory apparatus. Those new activated stem cells are located in previously proliferatively inactive regions of OE that become involved in compensatory processes for the formation of new cells.

Electron and laser confocal microscopy were used to analyze the adaptive cytochemical features of the olfactory epithelium in three genetically close deep-water Cottoidei species endemic to Lake Baikal ? golomyanka (Baikal oilfish) Comephorus baicalensis, longfin Baikal sculpin Cottocomephorus inermis and fat sculpin Batrachocottus nikolskii ? whose foraging strategies are realized under different hydrostatic pressure regimes. Hypobaric hypoxia that developed in B. nikolskii (a deep-water benthic species) upon delivery to the surface caused distinct destructive changes in cells of the olfactory epithelium. In C. baicalensis and C. inermis, whose foraging behavior involves daily vertical migrations between deep and shallow layers, these cells are characterized by a significantly higher structural and functional stability than in deep-water B. nikolskii. The results of morphological study and quantitative analysis of functionally active mitochondria in cells of the olfactory epithelium of closely related deep-water fish species with different modes of life provide evidence that tolerance of the olfactory apparatus to hypobaric hypoxia is different in pelagic and benthic species. These results help elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the consistent functioning of the olfactory system in animals evolutionarily adapted to extreme environmental factors, and provide theoretical and practical implications in different fields of biology, neurology and extreme medicine.

This research was devoted to studying the olfactory system adaptation mechanisms in fishes during their spawning period. For this purpose, the morpho-functional changes of supporting cells in the olfactory epithelium were analyzed by electron transmission and laser confocal microscopy. We have indicated that active mitochondria are concentrated in the apical zone of ciliated supporting cells. This position of mitochondria is important for the energy supply of cilia to enhance the olfactory mucus circulation. Moreover, there was an increase in mucous supporting cells secretory activity. Generally, identified changes in olfactory epithelium aim to raise the effectiveness of sex pheromone reception during the spawning period.