Effects of zinc deficiency on the regeneration of olfactory epithelium in mice

Chem Senses. 2023 Aug 1:bjad023. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjad023. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe olfactory epithelium can regenerate after damage; however, the regeneration process is affected by various factors, such as viral infections, head trauma, and medications. Zinc is an essential trace element that has important roles in organ development, growth, and maturation. Zinc also helps regulate neurotransmission in the brain; nevertheless, its relationship with olfactory epithelium regeneration remains unclear. Therefore, we used a severe zinc deficiency mouse model to investigate the effects of zinc deficiency on olfactory epithelium regeneration. Male wild-type C57BL/6 mice were divided into zinc-deficient and control diet groups at the age of 4 weeks, and methimazole was administered at the age of 8 weeks to induce severe olfactory epithelium damage. We evaluated the olfactory epithelium before and 7, 14, and 28 d after methimazole administration by histologically analyzing paraffin sections. RNA sequencing was also performed at the age of 8 weeks before methimazole administration to examine changes in gene expression caused by zinc deficiency. In the zinc-deficient group, the regenerated olfactory epithelium thickness was decreased at all time points, and the numbers of Ki-67-positive, GAP43-positive, and olfactory marker protein-positive cells (i.e., proliferating cells, immature olfactory neurons, and mature olfactory neurons, respectively) failed to increase at some t...
Source: Chemical Senses - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Source Type: research