Re-evaluation of spontaneous regeneration of the lateral olfactory tract

Spontaneous regeneration of the lateral olfactory tract (LOT) was re-evaluated in newborn rats using a fluorescent retrograde neuronal tracer as objective indicators of complete LOT transection. Complete LOT transection was evidenced by the loss of the white myelinated band characteristic for adult LOT and the total lack of retrograde neuronal labeling of mitral cells by Fast Blue that was injected during LOT transection. In completely LOT-transected young adult rats, mitral cells were retrogradely labeled consistently only by Fluoro-Gold that was injected into the olfactory cortex at the adult stage. Moreover, an anterograde neuronal tracer, biotinylated dextran amine (BDA), was demonstrated to pass from the neonatally LOT-transected bulb, through the transected retrobulbar site, towards the olfactory cortex, far caudally at a level near the optic chiasm. The regenerated structures lacked immunoreactivity for myelin basic protein and electron-dense myelinated axon bundles, and were also characterized by the thinness of the BDA(+) terminal zone within the olfactory cortex and the lack of its caudal extension. Young adult rats subjected to unilateral bulbectomy contralateral to the neonatally LOT-transected side showed perfect ability to discriminate cycloheximide solution by olfaction. From these findings, we conclude that the spontaneously regenerated olfactory system is functional despite structural incompleteness.