Abdullah AlMatrouk

Data Blitz Presentation

"Phospholipase C: Expression and Function in the Olfactory System"

Phospholipase C (PLC) isozymes play important roles in cellular responses to diverse stimuli and modulators. Thirteen distinct PLC isozymes have been identified in mammals, including PLC-β (1-4), γ (1, 2), δ (1, 3, 4), ε, ζ and η (1, 2). These isozymes are distributed in a tissue- and organ-specific manner, exhibiting many unique functions, which are regulated by diverse mechanisms. We previously showed that direct activation of PLC leads to an increase in intracellular Ca2+ in mouse olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) using Ca2+ imaging. We also showed that eleven different PLC isozyme gene transcripts are expressed at various levels in the mouse main olfactory epithelium (MOE), using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time qPCR with primers specific for each isozyme (Szebenyi et al., 2014). Here, we determined cell-type specific expression of PLC isoforms in the MOE using RNA in situ hybridization (RISH) with riboprobes specific for PLC-β (3 ,4), γ (1, 2) and ε1 and η2. We found that PLC-β (3), γ (1, 2) and ε1 gene transcripts are localized in the OSN layer, whereas β4 is diffusely expressed in multiple cell types in the MOE. We also found positive RISH signal for PLCη2 expression in supporting cells. These results confirm the expression of multiple PLC isozymes in the MOE, suggesting diverse roles of these isozymes in a cell type-specific context.