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PubMed2003

Magnetic resonance histology: in situ single cell imaging of receptor cells in an invertebrate (Lolliguncula brevis, Cephalopoda) sense organ.

Utilizing contrast-enhanced MR histology, individual cell bodies were identified in situ and compared one-to-one with conventional histology. The squid Lolliguncula brevis served as a model where the receptor cells of the proprioceptive neck receptor organ were labeled with paramagnetic cobalt(II) ions by conventional cobalt iontophoresis. Stimulated echo images were obtained using a 9.4 T magnet and followed by conventional histologic treatment and light microscopy. Images obtained from both these techniques match well and validate MR histology.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Ultrastructure of some cutaneous sense organs in Dermacentor marginatus nymphs.

The fine structure of the integumentary glands and mechanoreceptory setae in Dermacentor marginatus nymphs is described. The integumentary gland is localized in the epidermal layer and secretory products pass through the duct lumen and two cuticular lips to the surface. Ultrastructure of cuticular cavity represents triangular form with lateral folds. The mechanoreceptor setae are composed of glandular cells localized in the epidermal layer and cuticular setae movably articulated to the cuticle by means of a compact fibrillar ring around the base.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

[Sense organs: selective projections and control of behaviors].

Some aspects of comparative sensory physiology are reviewed in the context of the historical development. Emphasis is placed on the concepts how spatial and temporal stimulus patterns are processed into nervous excitation patterns and projected in the brain: Both receptor organs and neuron networks may act as selective filters for certain features of the stimulus situation. Neural projections represent not only the spatial distribution of the stimulus pattern but also other parameters. Excitation patterns resulting from the stimulus situation are compared in the neuronal networks with patterns inherited, learned, or inherited and modified by learning. The result of this comparison may then trigger the behavior necessary under the conditions present.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Choline acetyltransferase immunoreactive neurons innervating labyrinthine and lateral line sense organs in amphibians.

The goal of the present study was to investigate aspects of the central organization of the neurons belonging to the octavolateralis efferent system of amphibians. The perikarya of three genera, Pleurodeles, Xenopus, and Discoglossus, were located in the brainstem by applying retrograde tracers to the appropriate cranial nerves and choline acetyltransferase immunohistochemistry was used to identify cholinergic neurons. The efferent neurons supplying lateral line (Pleurodeles, Xenopus) and labyrinthine (Pleurodeles, Xenopus, and Discoglossus) end organs were found to intermingle in a single octavolateralis efferent nucleus. The neurons lie bilateral to the labelled nerves in Pleurodeles and ipsilateral in Xenopus and Discoglossus. Separate labelling of the anterior and posterior octavus rami provided no evidence for distinct groupings of efferent neurons that could be associated with auditory and vestibular end organs. In all three species many if not all octavolateral efferent neurons displayed immunoreactivity for choline acetyltransferase. They could be distinguished from the cholinergic facial motoneurons, with which they sometimes intermingle, on the basis of either their distinctive size and shape (Pleurodeles, Xenopus) or their location (Discoglossus). Double labelling in Xenopus confirmed the cholinergic nature of the efferent neurons.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Putative sense organs on the pallial tentacles of the limpet, Patella vulgata (L.).

The structure and ultrastructure of ciliary tufts on the pallial tentacles of the limpet Patella vulgata (L.) are described. The tip of each tentacle is covered by a dense crown of tufts and additional tufts can be seen scattered evenly across the surface of each tentacle. The cilia are nonmotile and nerve fibres run from the base of the ciliated cells suggesting a sensory function. Comparisons are made with ciliary tufts found in a Pacific species of limpet, Acmaea scutum, and other molluscan sensory structures.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Sibling cell fate in the Drosophila adult external sense organ lineage is specified by prospero function, which is regulated by Numb and Notch.

Specification of cell fate in the adult sensory organs is known to be dependent on intrinsic and extrinsic signals. We show that the homeodomain transcription factor Prospero (Pros) acts as an intrinsic signal for the specification of cell fates within the mechanosensory lineage. The sensory organ precursors divide to give rise to two secondary progenitors - PIIa and PIIb. Pros is expressed in PIIb, which gives rise to the neuron and thecogen cells. Loss of Pros function affects the identity of PIIb and neurons fail to differentiate. Pros misexpression is sufficient for the transformation of PIIa to PIIb fate. The expression of Pros in the normal PIIb cell appears to be regulated by Notch signaling.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

[The inner ear as an electrosensory sense organ].

A model for cochlear perception is introduced based on the consideration that the organ of Corti is an electrosensory organ like that found in fish physiology during phylogenetic development. The inner hair cells work as electroreceptors, the outer hair cells as electrocytes. A layer of potassium ions on the lower surface of the tectorial membrane causes the excitation of the inner hair cells as soon as contact with a stereocilium occurs. A model for the basilar membrane motion, based on mathematical considerations and in accordance with the typical tuning curves of single auditory nerve fibres can serve as basis to explain the results of frequency and intensity analyses if we assume an electric excitation of the inner hair cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Ultrastructure of the anterior sense organs of adult Gastromermis Boophthorae (Nematoda: Mermithidae).

The amphids of adult Gastromermis boophthorae exhibit an organization unlike any previously reported. Each amphid consists of a distal cuticular channel which opens to the exterior, and a proximal amphidial gland. The cuticular channel is double and 15-18 cilia are held in a tight bundle by the inner channel. The amphidial gland contains an extensive reticulum, and the nerve axons which give rise to the amphidial cilia are arranged around the outside of the gland; anteriorly these axons are characteristically flattened. A granular secretion is produced by the amphidial gland and passes via the reticulum to the double cuticular channel, thus bathing the ciliary bundle. The ultrastructure of the amphids is discussed in relation to functional considerations.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Fine structure of anterior terminus of apical sense organ in Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus (Acanthocephala).

The apex of the proboscis of Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus is crowned by a cone-shaped projection with a small opening in its center. The bottom of this opening is the anterior terminus of the apical sensory organ. When viewed in transverse section, the anterior terminus of this organ appears as a series of distinct layers that encircle a central cone enclosing a complex arrangement of nerves and a sensory support cell duct. Four membrane-defined layers encircle the cone area. The outermost glycocalyx is morphologically identical with that described on the metasoma. The second layer, or tegument, is similar in appearance to that observed on the trunk except for the greater abundance of keratinlike bundles throughout. These bundles are also organized into a loose network along the inner tegumental membrane. The third layer, a latticework of fine filaments containing few organelles, has an erratic boundary that occasionally extends into layer 4. The area adjacent to the inner and outer boundary contains numerous vesicles. Layer 4 has 2 distinct zones. The outer contains filaments arranged as in circular muscle; whereas, the medial lacks such filaments but consists of a finely grained matrix. Radiating throughout both zones are numerous osmiophilic bundles of fibers. The cone at this level contains 8 branches of the apical sensory nerves that interdigitate with the duct from the sensory support cell. Numerous filaments and vesicles are associated with this complex.

Acanthocephala↗
PubMed2005

Scanning electron microscopy of foreleg tarsal sense organs of the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (DeGeer) (Acari:Dermanyssidae).

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies on the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (DeGeer), showed that the tip of the foreleg tarsus of both sexes and early instar stages (larvae, protonymph and deutonymph) bears a cluster of 10 blunt peg-type sensillae. Diversity in size, shape and surface features of the wall of these sensillae characterize the sensilla complex (sensory field). Two short setae (1 and 2) with smooth walls lack detectable pores, whereas three medium-sized setae (4, 5 and 8) bear pores in the wall. Four medium or long setae (3, 6, 7 and 9) have longitudinal grooves or ribs in the wall, whilst one seta (10) possesses both pores and grooves in the wall. Based on the morphology, it is suggested that the porous setae could be olfactory receptors, and the grooved setae could be mechanoreceptors.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

cato encodes a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor implicated in the correct differentiation of Drosophila sense organs.

In Drosophila neurogenesis, proneural genes encode bHLH proteins that are required for neural precursor selection. But many vertebrate homologues are expressed later and are postulated to have multiple roles during neurogenesis. We have isolated a new Drosophila gene, cato, which encodes a protein with a bHLH domain that is closely related to that of the proneural protein Atonal. cato expression is restricted to the developing PNS, where it is expressed in between the stages of precursor selection and terminal differentiation (and therefore later than the proneural genes). We present evidence from loss-of-function and misexpression experiments that cato is involved in sensory neurone morphology. Moreover, in prospero mutants, in which axon and dendrite outgrowth is defective, cato is strongly derepressed in the developing CNS.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Proneural gene self-stimulation in neural precursors: an essential mechanism for sense organ development that is regulated by Notch signaling.

To learn about the acquisition of neural fate by ectodermal cells, we have analyzed a very early sign of neural commitment in Drosophila, namely the specific accumulation of achaete-scute complex (AS-C) proneural proteins in the cell that becomes a sensory organ mother cell (SMC). We have characterized an AS-C enhancer that directs expression specifically in SMCs. This enhancer promotes Scute protein accumulation in these cells, an event essential for sensory organ development in the absence of other AS-C genes. Interspecific sequence comparisons and site-directed mutagenesis show the presence of several conserved motifs necessary for enhancer action, some of them binding sites for proneural proteins. These and other data indicate that the enhancer mediates scute self-stimulation, although only in the presence of additional activating factors, which most likely interact with conserved motifs reminiscent of NF-kappaB-binding sites. Cells neighboring the SMC do not acquire the neural fate because the Notch signaling pathway effectors, the Enhancer of split bHLH proteins, block this proneural gene self-stimulatory loop, possibly by antagonizing the action on the enhancer of the NF-kappaB-like factors or the proneural proteins. These data suggest a mechanism for SMC committment.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

A transcription factor controlling development of peripheral sense organs in C. elegans.

The basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins constitute a class of transcription factors thought to be important in the control of cell-type determination. These transcription factors are believed to activate the expression of cell-type-specific genes to generate stable differentiated cell types. The expression of bHLH proteins, in turn, is regulated by spatial cues, so that switches in cell type occur in a reproducible pattern. We report here that the lin-32 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans, which encodes a bHLH protein of the Drosophila achaete-scute family of transcription factors, is necessary and in some cells sufficient for specification of the neuroblast cell fate. Similarity in the function and structure of the lin-32 protein (LIN-32) to transcription factors of the achaete-scute gene family in Drosophila and vertebrates implies that this class of transcription factors functioned in a primitive ancestral form to specify neuronal cell fate, supporting the proposition that certain basic mechanisms of cell-type determination have been conserved through metazoan evolution.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Frizzled signalling controls orientation of asymmetric sense organ precursor cell divisions in Drosophila.

During metazoan development, cell-fate diversity is brought about, in part, by asymmetric cell divisions. In Drosophila, bristle mechanosensory organs are composed of four different cells that originate from a single precursor cell, pI, after two rounds of asymmetric division. At each division, distinct fates are conferred on sister cells by the asymmetric segregation of Numb, a negative regulator of Notch signalling. Here we show that the orientation of the mitotic spindles and the localization of the Numb crescent follow a stereotyped pattern. Mitosis of pI is orientated parallel to the anteroposterior axis of the fly. We show that signalling mediated by the Frizzled receptor polarizes pI along this axis, thereby specifying the orientation of the mitotic spindle and positioning the Numb crescent. The mitoses of the two cells produced by mitosis of pI are orientated parallel and orthogonal, respectively, to the division axis of pI. This difference in cell-division orientation is largely independent of the identity of the secondary precursor cells, and is regulated by Frizzled-independent mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Fine structure and molting of aesthetasc sense organs on the antennules of the isopod, Asellus aquaticus (Crustacea).

In Asellus aquaticus certain distal antennular segments bear single sensilla referred to as aesthetascs. These show a proximal stem and a distal bulbous region. Depending on its position, each aesthetasc is innervated by either 50-60 or 70-80 bipolar sensory cells, the perikarya of which are situated within the pedunculus. Within the antennular segment the dendrites develop unbranched cilia (9 X 2 + 0 structure). The sensory cells are unusual in that mono- as well as biciliary dendrites are present within a single aesthetasc, the ratio of both types being correlated with the number of sensory cells. Cilia and receptor lymph cavity are enveloped by a set of 3-4 inner and 13-14 outer sheath cells, which terminate at the base of the sensillum, so that the delicate and poreless cuticle of the bulbous region encloses only outer segments within the receptor lymph fluid. A new molting type in arthropods is described in which the outer sheath cells alone build the new cuticle, whereas the inner sheath cells most probably have a protective function. A definition of aesthetascs is proposed based on fine-structural criteria. Functionally the sensilla are considered to be chemoreceptors. This assumption is confirmed by experiments with diluted vital dye as well as lanthanum showing that dissolved substances penetrate the poreless cuticle instantaneously.

Animals↗
PubMed1960

Effects of polarization of the receptor membrane and of the first Ranvier node in a sense organ.

It has previously been shown that the site of production of the generator potential in Pacinian corpuscles is the receptor membrane of the non-myelinated ending, and the site of initiation of the nerve impulse, the adjacent (first) Ranvier node. Effects of membrane polarization of these sites were studied in the present work. Nerve ending and first Ranvier node were isolated by dissection, electric activity was recorded from, and polarizing currents were passed through them. All observations were done at steady levels of polarization, seconds after onset of current flow. The following results were obtained: The amount of charge transferred through the excited receptor membrane is a function of the electrical gradients across the membrane. The generator potential in response to equal mechanical stimuli increases with resting potential of the receptor membrane. The refractory state of the generator potential is not affected by polarization. The electrical threshold for impulse firing at the first Ranvier node (measured by the minimal amplitude of generator potential which elicits a nodal impulse) is nearly minimal at normal resting potential of the node. Both, hyperpolarization and depolarization lead to a rise in nodal threshold. For any level of polarization of nodal and receptor membrane, the threshold for production of impulses by adequate (mechanical) stimulation appears determined by the generator potential-stimulus strength relation and by the electrical threshold of the node.

Nerve Endings↗
PubMed1961

Effects of temperature on the generator and action potentials of a sense organ.

Charge transfer through the receptor membrane of the nonmyelinated ending of Pacinian corpuscles is markedly affected by temperature. The rate of rise and the amplitude of the generator potential in response to a constant mechanical stimulus increase with temperature coefficients of 2.5 and 2.0 respectively. The duration of the falling phase, presumably a purely passive component, and the rise time of the generator potential are but little affected by temperature. The following interpretation is offered: Mechanical stimulation causes the conductance of the receptor membrane to increase and ions to flow along their electrochemical gradients. An energy barrier of about 16,000 cal/mole limits the conductance change. The latter increases, thus, steeply with temperature, causing both the rate of rise and the intensity of the generator current to increase. The membrane of the adjacent Ranvier node behaves in a distinctly different manner. The amplitude of the nodal action potential is little changed over a wide range of temperature, while the durations of its rising and falling phases increase markedly. The electrical threshold of the nodal membrane is rather constant between 40 and 12 degrees C. Below 12 degrees C the threshold rises, and the mechanically elicited generator current fails to meet the threshold requirements of the first node. Cold block of nerve impulse initiation then ensues, although the receptor membrane still continues to produce generator potentials in response to mechanical stimulation.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1991

Pattern formation in the nematode epidermis: determination of the arrangement of peripheral sense organs in the C. elegans male tail.

The developmental process that determines the arrangement of ray sensilla in the Caenorhabditis elegans male tail has been studied. It is shown that the adult arrangement of rays is determined by the placement of ray cells at specific sites in the epidermis of the last larval (L4) stage. Placement of ray cells at specific epidermal sites results from the generation of neurons and support cells in the epidermis near to their final positions, and the subsequent refinement of these positions by an active mechanism involving specific cellular associations. Positions of ray cells and adjacent epidermal cells have been studied during ray development by means of indirect immunofluorescence staining with an antibody to a cell junctional antigen. Mutations are described in six genes that alter the adult arrangement of the rays, frequently resulting in fusion of rays. Changes in the adult pattern of rays in mutants appear to result from prior changes in the epidermal positions of ray cells, and for two mutants it is suggested that this may be due to the inappropriate clustering of processes from neurons and support cells of adjacent rays. Development of the wild-type arrangement of rays appears to require the specification of molecular differences between the rays that affect the specificity of their cellular associations.

Animals↗