Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Transplantation of Olfactory Ensheathing Cells to Evaluate Functional Recovery after Peripheral Nerve Injury
Published on: February 23, 2014
The engraftment of transplanted bone marrow-derived cells into the olfactory epithelium
Hidetsugu Tsujigiwa1, Kazunori Nishizaki, Takanori Teshima
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Shikata-cho 2-5-1, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.
To investigate whether bone marrow cells migrate and are engrafted into the olfactory epithelium and differentiate into olfactory neurons, bone marrow cells of green fluorescence protein (GFP) mice were transplanted into lethally irradiated recipient mice. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate the engraftment of donor bone marrow cells into the olfactory epithelium. Immunostaining for GFP was found initially in the olfactory epithelium 2 weeks after bone marrow reconstruction. The percentage of GFP positive cells increased up to 12 months after bone marrow reconstruction. Double staining for GFP and olfactory marker protein showed that a population of the GFP-positive cells had characteristics of olfactory neurons. These results demonstrate that bone marrow cells can be engrafted in the olfactory epithelium and then differentiate into olfactory neuron cells.
To investigate whether bone marrow cells migrate and are engrafted into the olfactory epithelium and differentiate into olfactory neurons, bone marrow cells of green fluorescence protein (GFP) mice were transplanted into lethally irradiated recipient mice. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate the engraftment of donor bone marrow cells into the olfactory epithelium. Immunostaining for GFP was found initially in the olfactory epithelium 2 weeks after bone marrow reconstruction. The percentage of GFP positive cells increased up to 12 months after bone marrow reconstruction. Double staining for GFP and olfactory marker protein showed that a population of the GFP-positive cells had characteristics of olfactory neurons. These results demonstrate that bone marrow cells can be engrafted in the olfactory epithelium and then differentiate into olfactory neuron cells.
