Responses of the astroglia in sensory deprived olfactory bulb of developing rats

The effects of unilateral olfactory deprivation on the glial population during the olfactory bulb development have been studied. The lack of sensory stimulation has been found to be related to an increase in gliofibrillary acid protein (GFAP) in the three layers of the deprived bulbs. This increase is due to the higher number of astrocytes in the deprived bulb, which is much more noticeable in the plexiform layer than in the other two, together with a hypertrophy of the reactive astrocytes resulting in an increase in the number and thickness of their prolongations. Our results demonstrate that sensory olfactory deprivation acts as other noxius agents on the CNS, causing gliosis in the olfactory bulb. This gliosis is revealed by astrocytic hyperplasia and hypertrophy.