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Copyright @ Pol J Cosmetol
Pol J Cosmetol 2006, 9(2): 87-91pl,en  The olfactory sense organ in human bodies and in animalsAgata Jabłońska-Trypuć, Ryszard Farbiszewski Zakład Biologii, Wyższa Szkoła Kosmetologii i Ochrony Zdrowia w Białymstoku Summary This review describes the molecular mechanism underlying odour perception as well as the means by which pheromones elicit instinctive behaviors. The discovery of odorant receptors by Linda Buck explained how the olfactory system detects odorants. The olfactory receptors are organized in the olfactory epithelium of the human nasal cavity or in the vomeronasal organ in animals. They are selectively expressed by olfactory sensory neurons and are proteins of extremely diverse in amino acid sequences. Presently, it is considered that odorants depolarize neurons and alter the membrane potential. Ultimately it is not known, what kind of protein of odorant receptors play a role in olfactory transduction. Key words: odour perception, odorant receptors, olfactory epithelium, sensory neurons. |