NMDA receptor regulation of cell death in the rat olfactory bulb

Cell death is widespread in the developing nervous system and is under complex regulation by numerous intra- and intercellular mechanisms. Blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptor has been shown to promote cell death in the developing brain (Ikonomidou et al., 1999), suggesting that afferent functional activation is an important regulator of cell survival. The olfactory bulb, the first central relay for olfactory information from the nose, is well suited for examining the role of afferent activity in neuronal development. Functional deprivation is easily performed by surgical blockade of airflow to one side of the nasal passage, which results in dramatic alterations in postnatal development of the bulb (Brunjes, 1994), including enhanced neuronal loss (Frazier and Brunjes, 1988; Najbauer and Leon, 1995). The present report examined the specific role of NMDA receptor activation in regulating cell survival within the rat bulb. Pharmacological blockade of receptors with the noncompetitive channel blocker MK-801 (3 x 0.5 mg/kg i.p.) resulted in profound increases in cell death within 24 h. Furthermore, in contrast to other regions, where the effects of receptor blockade were confined to the first 2 postnatal weeks (Ikonomidou et al., 1999), enhancement of cell death was seen in the deeper granule cell-containing regions of the bulb with injections as late as postnatal day 28. In addition, the effects of MK-801 were much more dramatic than those seen after unilateral naris closure, suggesting that NMDA receptor activation may mediate additional survival pathways in the bulb beyond that provided by first nerve input.