Biomedical subjects

Stuart J Firestein

Publications and source records attributed to Stuart J Firestein.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

High-throughput microarray detection of olfactory receptor gene expression in the mouse.

The large number of olfactory receptor genes necessitates high throughput methods to analyze their expression patterns. We have therefore designed a high-density oligonucleotide array containing all known mouse olfactory receptor (OR) and V1R vomeronasal receptor genes. This custom array detected a large number of receptor genes, demonstrating specific expression in the olfactory sensory epithelium for approximately 800 OR genes previously designated as ORs based solely on genomic sequences. The array also enabled us to monitor the spatial and temporal distribution of gene expression for the entire OR family. Interestingly, OR genes showing spatially segregated expression patterns were also segregated on the chromosomes. This correlation between genomic location and spatial expression provides unique insights about the regulation of this large family of genes.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2003

Motif-based construction of a functional map for mammalian olfactory receptors.

We applied an automatic and unsupervised system to a nearly complete database of mammalian odor receptor genes. The generated motifs and gene classification were subjected to extensive and systematic downstream analysis to obtain biological insights. Two major results from this analysis were: (1) a map of sequence motifs that may correlate with function and (2) the corresponding receptor classes in which members of each class are likely to share specific functions. We have discovered motifs that have been implicated in structural integrity and posttranslational modification, as well as motifs very likely to be directly involved in ligand binding. We further propose a combinatorial molecular hypothesis, based on unique combinations of the observed motifs, that provides a foundation for understanding the generation of a large number of ligand binding sites.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

PubMed2002

Action potentials that go the distance.

Dendrodendritic inhibition between mitral and granule cells in the olfactory bulb is thought to play an important role in olfactory discrimination. In this issue of Neuron, explore the propagation of action potentials along the secondary dendrites of mitral cells and their modulation by dendrodendritic inhibition.

Action Potentials↗