Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2D) complications include brain damage which increases the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia. An early manifestation of neurodegeneration is olfactory dysfunction (OD), which is also presented in diabetic patients. Previously, we demonstrated that OD correlates with IL-1β and miR-146a overexpression in the olfactory bulb (OB) on a T2D rodent model, suggesting the participation of inflammation on OD. Here, we found that OD persists on a long-term T2D condition after the downregulation of IL-1β. Remarkably, OD was associated with the increased expression of the dopaminergic neuronal marker tyrosine hydroxylase, ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and reduced neuronal activation on the OB of diabetic rats, suggesting the participation of the dopaminergic tone on the OD derived from T2D. Dopaminergic neurons are susceptible in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease; therefore further studies must be performed to completely elucidate the participation of these neurons and ERK1/2 signaling on olfactory impairment.
Keywords: MAPK signaling; Olfaction; dopamine; miRNAs; neuroinflammation; olfactory bulb.