Laboratorio Sensorial, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Edificio A, 4º piso, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 04510, Ciudad de México, México.
Centro de Investigación en Bioingeniería, Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Lima, Perú.
Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2022 Aug;42(6):1727-1743. doi: 10.1007/s10571-021-01080-9. Epub 2021 Apr 4.
The olfactory system is responsible for the reception, integration and interpretation of odors. However, in the last years, it has been discovered that the olfactory perception of food can rapidly modulate the activity of hypothalamic neurons involved in the regulation of energy balance. Conversely, the hormonal signals derived from changes in the metabolic status of the body can also change the sensitivity of the olfactory system, suggesting that the bidirectional relationship established between the olfactory and the hypothalamic systems is key for the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis. In the first part of this review, we describe the possible mechanisms and anatomical pathways involved in the modulation of energy balance regulated by the olfactory system. Hence, we propose a model to explain its implication in the maintenance of the metabolic homeostasis of the organism. In the second part, we discuss how the olfactory system could be involved in the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity and type two diabetes and, finally, we propose the use of intranasal therapies aimed to regulate and improve the activity of the olfactory system that in turn will be able to control the neuronal activity of hypothalamic centers to prevent or ameliorate metabolic diseases.
嗅觉系统负责接收、整合和解释气味。然而，在过去的几年中，人们发现食物的嗅觉感知可以迅速调节参与调节能量平衡的下丘脑神经元的活动。相反，来自身体代谢状态变化的激素信号也可以改变嗅觉系统的敏感性，这表明嗅觉和下丘脑系统之间建立的双向关系是维持代谢稳态的关键。在本综述的第一部分，我们描述了嗅觉系统调节能量平衡的可能机制和解剖途径。因此，我们提出了一个模型来解释其在维持机体代谢稳态中的作用。在第二部分，我们讨论了嗅觉系统如何参与肥胖和 2 型糖尿病等代谢疾病的发展，最后，我们提出了使用鼻腔内治疗方法来调节和改善嗅觉系统的活性，从而能够控制下丘脑中心的神经元活动，以预防或改善代谢疾病。
