Institute of Pharmacology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.
Section of Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Br J Pharmacol. 2021 Dec;178(24):4792-4807. doi: 10.1111/bph.15666. Epub 2021 Sep 19.
The metabolic syndrome has become one of the major public health challenges in the world, and adjusting glucose and lipid levels to their normal values is crucial for treating the metabolic syndrome. Olfactory receptors (ORs) expressed in extra-nasal tissues participate in diverse biological processes, including the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism. Ectopic ORs can regulate a variety of metabolic events including insulin secretion, glucagon secretion, fatty acid oxidation, lipogenesis and thermogenesis. Understanding the physiological function and deciphering the olfactory recognition code by suitable ligands make ectopic ORs potential targets for the treatment of the metabolic syndrome. In this review, we delineate the roles and mechanisms of ectopic ORs in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism, summarize the corresponding natural ligands, and discuss existing problems and the therapeutic potential of targeting ORs in the metabolic syndrome.
代谢综合征已成为全球主要的公共卫生挑战之一，将血糖和血脂水平调节至正常水平对于治疗代谢综合征至关重要。非鼻组织中表达的嗅觉受体（ORs）参与多种生物学过程，包括调节葡萄糖和脂质代谢。异位 ORs 可以调节多种代谢事件，包括胰岛素分泌、胰高血糖素分泌、脂肪酸氧化、脂肪生成和产热。通过合适的配体理解其生理功能和解码嗅觉识别密码使异位 ORs 成为治疗代谢综合征的潜在靶点。在这篇综述中，我们描述了异位 ORs 在调节葡萄糖和脂质代谢中的作用和机制，总结了相应的天然配体，并讨论了靶向 ORs 治疗代谢综合征的现存问题和治疗潜力。
