2012年11月21日 讯 /生物谷BIOON/ --近日，耶鲁大学的研究人员发现，果实蝇触角的神经受体在缺乏突触连接的情况下是可以相互通信的。
研究人员猜测黑腹果蝇等触角毛发感觉器充满液体，神经细胞之间没有直接的联系沟通，但可能存在一个突触耦合机制。在实验室中，研究人员测试了几个果实蝇标本。首先着眼于位于感觉器的两种受体，这两种受体分别用于检测水果中甲基己酸酯和香蕉香味的2 -庚酮。
他们证实了，感受器的神经元可能是通过电信号彼此沟通的。研究结果改变了科学以往家对化学感官了解。这项新研究揭示了神经元可能通过电信号彼此沟通。当检测电流信号时，它发出电流到触角毛发感觉器间共享流体，这种电流可能会导致附近其他神经元沉默。
相关研究论文发表在Nature杂志上，总之，新研究证实了神经受体相互通信的不依赖于突触连接。（生物谷：Bioon.com）
doi:10.1038/nature11712
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Non-synaptic inhibition between grouped neurons in an olfactory circuit
Chih-Ying Su,Karen Menuz,Johannes Reisert& John R. Carlson
Diverse sensory organs, including mammalian taste buds and insect chemosensory sensilla, show a marked compartmentalization of receptor cells; however, the functional impact of this organization remains unclear. Here we show that compartmentalized Drosophila olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) communicate with each other directly. The sustained response of one ORN is inhibited by the transient activation of a neighbouring ORN. Mechanistically, such lateral inhibition does not depend on synapses and is probably mediated by ephaptic coupling. Moreover, lateral inhibition in the periphery can modulate olfactory behaviour. Together, the results show that integration of olfactory information can occur via lateral interactions between ORNs. Inhibition of a sustained response by a transient response may provide a means of encoding salience. Finally, a CO2-sensitive ORN in the malaria mosquito Anopheles can also be inhibited by excitation of an adjacent ORN, suggesting a broad occurrence of lateral inhibition in insects and possible applications in insect control.
