Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar.
Department of Biochemistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Cell Tissue Res. 2021 Jan;383(1):445-456. doi: 10.1007/s00441-020-03327-1. Epub 2021 Jan 6.
Noses are extremely sophisticated chemical detectors allowing animals to use scents to interpret and navigate their environments. Odor detection starts with the activation of odorant receptors (ORs), expressed in mature olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) populating the olfactory mucosa. Different odorants, or different concentrations of the same odorant, activate unique ensembles of ORs. This mechanism of combinatorial receptor coding provided a possible explanation as to why different odorants are perceived as having distinct odors. Aided by new technologies, several recent studies have found that antagonist interactions also play an important role in the formation of the combinatorial receptor code. These findings mark the start of a new era in the study of odorant-receptor interactions and add a new level of complexity to odor coding in mammals.
鼻子是极其复杂的化学探测器，使动物能够利用气味来解释和导航它们的环境。气味的检测始于气味受体 (ORs) 的激活，这些受体表达在成熟的嗅觉感觉神经元 (OSNs) 中，这些神经元存在于嗅觉黏膜中。不同的气味剂，或同一种气味剂的不同浓度，会激活独特的 OR 组合。这种组合受体编码的机制为不同的气味剂被感知为具有不同气味提供了一个可能的解释。在新技术的帮助下，最近的几项研究发现，拮抗剂相互作用也在组合受体编码的形成中起着重要作用。这些发现标志着气味受体相互作用研究的新时代的开始，并为哺乳动物的气味编码增添了新的复杂性。
