BACKGROUND Arthrogryposis, renal dysfunction and cholestasis (ARC) syndrome is a multisystem autosomal-recessive disorder caused by defects in the VPS33B and VIPAR genes, involved in localization of apical membrane proteins. Affected children usually die by 1 year of age, often secondary to infective complications. The classic renal manifestation previously described in ARC syndrome is proximal...

To evaluate the pathophysiological function of specific molecules in the renal glomerulus, selective, sustained, and modifiable expression of such molecules will be required. Towards achieving this end, we devised a gene transfer system using the glomerular mesangial cell as a vector for gene delivery. A reporter gene which encodes bacterial beta-galactosidase was introduced into cultured rat m...

The olfactory bulb (OB) is the first relay station of the central olfactory system in the mammalian brain and contains a few thousand glomeruli on its surface. Because individual glomeruli represent a single odorant receptor, the glomerular sheet of the OB forms odorant receptor maps. This review summarizes the emerging view of the spatial organization of the odorant receptor maps. Recent studi...

synapses. Spillover of transmitter introduces a divergence of information flow superimposed on that produced by divergence in the wiring of synaptic connections. In the case of glutamate, it may also have significant implications for our understanding of the mechanisms Although a modulation of excitatory transmission by Summary GABA spillover has been observed in the hippocampus (Isaacson et al...

The olfactory system is a classical model for studying sensory processing. The first olfactory brain center [the olfactory bulb of vertebrates and the antennal lobe (AL) of insects] contains spherical neuropiles called glomeruli. Each glomerulus receives the information from one olfactory receptor type. Interglomerular computation is accomplished by lateral connectivity via interneurons. Howeve...

In search for biological sources of the long-chain fatty aldehydes (penta-, hexa-, and heptadecanal), which we recently identified as ligands for members of the mouse odorant receptor subfamily OR37, the headspace of secretions and excretions from mice was analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. In urine, skin swabs, and saliva, these components were not detectable. However, in fe...

Intravital imaging using multiphoton microscopy (MPM) has become an increasingly popular and widely used experimental technique in kidney research over the past few years. MPM allows deep optical sectioning of the intact, living kidney tissue with submicron resolution, which is unparalleled among intravital imaging approaches. MPM has solved a long-standing critical technical barrier in renal r...