Breaking a longstanding impasse in our understanding of olfaction, scientists at UC San Francisco (UCSF) have created the first molecular-level, 3D picture of how an odor molecule activates a human odorant receptor, a crucial step in deciphering the sense of smell.

 

The findings, appearing online March 15, 2023, in the journal Nature, are poised to reignite interest in the science of smell with implications for fragrances, food science, and beyond. Odorant receptors — proteins that bind odor molecules on the surface of olfactory cells — make up half of the largest, most diverse family of receptors in our bodies; A deeper understanding of them paves the way for new insights about a range of biological processes.

 

“This has been a huge goal in the field for some time,” said Aashish Manglik, MD, PhD, an associate professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and a senior author of the study. The dream, he said, is to map the interactions of thousands of scent molecules with hundreds of odorant receptors, so that a chemist could design a molecule and predict what it would smell like.

 

“But we haven’t been able to make this map because, without a picture, we don’t know how odor molecules react with their corresponding odor receptors,” Manglik said.

 

Read the full article at: www.ucsf.edu