Search results for " odor"
showing 10 items of 67 documents
Enthalpy/entropy compensation effects from cavity desolvation underpin broad ligand binding selectivity for rat odorant binding protein 3
2014
Evolution has produced proteins with exquisite ligand binding specificity, and manipulating this effect has been the basis for much of modern rational drug design. However, there are general classes of proteins with broader ligand selectivity linked to function, the origin of which is poorly understood. The odorant binding proteins (OBPs) sequester volatile molecules for transportation to the olfactory receptors. Rat OBP3, which we characterize by X-ray crystallography and NMR, binds a homologous series of aliphatic gamma-lactones within its aromatic-rich hydrophobic pocket with remarkably little variation in affinity but extensive enthalpy/entropy compensation effects. We show that the bin…
Multivariate approach to reveal relationships between sensory perception of cheeses and aroma profile obtained with different extraction methods
2014
A new and original statistical approach was used to compare the effectiveness of 4 different methods to analyse aroma compounds of seven different commercial semi-hard cheeses with regard to their orthonasal sensory perception. Four extraction methods were evaluated: Purge and Trap, Artificial Mouth, Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) and Solvent-Assisted Flavour Evaporation (SAFE). Among the headspace methods, Artificial Mouth gave the closest representation of the studied product space to the sensory perception one. The SAFE method was complementary to the dynamic headspace methods, as it was very efficient in extracting the heavy molecules but less efficient for extracting the most volat…
Activity and expression of drug metabolizing enzymes in olfactory mucosa of rats treated by hepatic inducers
2008
International audience; Several drug-metabolizing enzymes (DME), such as cytochrome P450- dependent monooxygenases (CYP) and transferases have been characterized in the olfactory epithelium. Some of them are preferentially expressed in this tissue, while others are similar to those present in the liver. The role of these enzymes remains unclear. Since the olfactory mucosa is in direct contact with the external environment, these enzymes can contribute to the detoxification of chemical compounds. In addition, these enzymes could be involved in the olfaction process, especially in the biotransformation of odorants. Indeed, the rapid inactivation and clearance of odorants is a prerequisite for…
Implication of an odorant-binding protein in precopulatory behaviour and interaction with the bacterial microbiota
2023
Chemoreception allows animals to detect nutritive food and avoid toxic compounds. Volatile and non-volatile chemical compounds, which are detected by olfactory and gustatory sensory organs, can trigger feeding and reproductive behaviours in animals such as Drosophila melanogaster. Inside chemosensory organs, perireceptor proteins like odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) serve to transport odorant and tastant molecule to dedicated receptors. OBPs are not only involved in chemoreception but also in several other functions. A recent study revealed an interaction between insect microbiota and OBP expression while another one showed that microbes can promote nutrient harvesting on food. In our proje…
Baculovirus infection affects caterpillar chemoperception
2021
International audience; Baculoviruses are double-stranded DNA entomopathogenic viruses that infect predominantly insects of the order Lepidoptera. Research in the last decade has started to disentangle the mechanisms underlying the insect-virus interaction, particularly focusing on the effects of the baculovirus infection in the host's physiology. Among crucial physiological functions, olfaction has a key role in reproductive tasks, food source detection and enemy avoidance. In this work, we describe that Spodoptera exigua multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV) induces expression changes in some odorant receptors (ORs)-the centrepiece of insect's olfaction-when infecting larvae from its nat…
Expression of Odorant Receptor Family, Type 2 OR in the Aquatic Olfactory Cavity of Amphibian Frog Xenopus tropicalis
2012
International audience; Recent genome wide in silico analyses discovered a new family (type 2 or family H) of odorant receptors (ORs) in teleost fish and frogs. However, since there is no evidence of the expression of these novel OR genes in olfactory sensory neurons (OSN), it remains unknown if type 2 ORs (OR2) function as odorant receptors. In this study, we examined expression of OR2 genes in the frog Xenopus tropicalis. The overall gene expression pattern is highly complex and differs depending on the gene and developmental stage. RT-PCR analysis in larvae showed that all of the OR2η genes we identified were expressed in the peripheral olfactory system and some were detected in the brai…
UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) in neuro-olfactory tissues: expression, regulation, and function.
2010
International audience; This work aims to review uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) expression and activities along different neuronal structures involved in the common physiological process of olfaction: olfactory epithelium, olfactory bulb, and olfactory cortex. For the first time, using high-throughput in situ hybridization data generated by the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA), we present quantitative analysis of spatial distribution of UGT genes in the mouse brain. The olfactory area is a central nervous system site with the highest expression of UGTs, including UGT isoforms not previously identified in the brain. Since there is evidence of the transfer of xenobiotics to th…
Use of ultrasonic vocalizations to assess olfactory detection in mouse pups treated with 3-methylindole.
2005
International audience; Altricial mammals use olfaction long before the olfactory bulb has reached its anatomically mature state. Indeed, while audition and vision are still not functional, the olfactory system of newborn animals can clearly process distinct odorant molecules. Although several previous studies have emphasized the important role that olfaction plays in early critical functions, it has been difficult to develop a sensitive and reliable test to precisely quantify olfactory ability in pups. One difficulty in determining early sensory capabilities is the rather limited behavioral repertory of neonates. The present study examines the use of ultrasonic vocalizations emitted by iso…
Perforated Patch-clamp Recording of Mouse Olfactory Sensory Neurons in Intact Neuroepithelium: Functional Analysis of Neurons Expressing an Identifie…
2015
Analyzing the physiological responses of olfactory sensory neurons (OSN) when stimulated with specific ligands is critical to understand the basis of olfactory-driven behaviors and their modulation. These coding properties depend heavily on the initial interaction between odor molecules and the olfactory receptor (OR) expressed in the OSNs. The identity, specificity and ligand spectrum of the expressed OR are critical. The probability to find the ligand of the OR expressed in an OSN chosen randomly within the epithelium is very low. To address this challenge, this protocol uses genetically tagged mice expressing the fluorescent protein GFP under the control of the promoter of defined ORs. O…
Postnatal odorant exposure induces peripheral olfactory plasticity at the cellular level
2014
Mammalian olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) form the primary elements of the olfactory system. Inserted in the olfactory mucosa lining of the nasal cavity, they are exposed to the environment and their lifespan is brief. Several reports say that OSNs are regularly regenerated during the entire life and that odorant environment affects the olfactory epithelium. However, little is known about the impact of the odorant environment on OSNs at the cellular level and more precisely in the context of early postnatal olfactory exposure. Here we exposed MOR23-green fluorescent protein (GFP) and M71-GFP mice to lyral or acetophenone, ligands for MOR23 or M71, respectively. Daily postnatal exposure to …