ABSTRACT
Objective Investigate the morphological features and distribution of olfactory ensheathing cells(Ecs) to study the relationship with CNS regeneration. Methods Luxol fast blue,Mallory special staining methods and TEM were emploed. Results ECs are distributed within the first two layers of olfactory bulb(OB) and olfactory epithelium along the olfactory nerve.The majority of cells are flattened with extended cytoplasm,although some are bipolar or tripolar with long and thin processes.NGFRp75 immunocytochemical reactive are sequentially expressed by ECs in the first two layers of OB and olfactory epithelium.TEM showed that the ECs possessed an irregularly shaped nucleus with a prominent nucleolus,and the mesaxon of each ECs encloses densely packed bundles of unmyelinated axons.Conclusion\ The ECs are a type of macroglia exclusively located in the first two layers of OB and olfactory epithelium,the morphology of EC is flattened with extended cytoplasm and the mesaxon of each ECs encloses densely packed bundles of unmyelinated axons.