(Press-News.org) Using a newly devised, three-dimensional model to study the regeneration of nerve tissue in the nose, researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) and colleagues have discovered that one type of stem cell thought to be dormant may play a more significant role in preserving the sense of smell than originally believed.
Unlike cells in the central nervous system, sensory neurons in the nasal cavity have a remarkable ability to regenerate throughout life despite near constant exposure to the outside environment.
Viral infections such as COVID-19, exposure to toxins, or even aging itself can diminish their function or the ability of these cells to replicate, which can lead to a partial or complete loss of smell. The team of researchers devised a new, easy-to-create, three-dimensional olfactory tissue mouse model or organoid to help scientists better study how neurons are continually formed in the nose and why this process might decline in disease and aging.
Their research, published recently in Cell Reports Methods, uses this mouse model to show how two types of stem cells in the nose, called horizontal basal cells (HBCs) and globose basal cells (GBCs), communicate and support each other to develop new smell-sensing nerve tissue.
“Our research suggests that these two stem cells may be interdependent,” says Brian Lin, senior author on the study and a research assistant professor in the Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology. “One type that we thought was largely dormant— HBCs—may actually play a crucial role in supporting the production of new neurons and the repair of damaged tissue.”
Using this model, the team identified a specific subpopulation of HBCs, marked by their production of the protein KRT5, that actively support the generation of new olfactory neurons. The researchers observed that these particular HBCs play a key role in the formation of the organoids, and they found that when these cells were selectively depleted from the organoid cultures, the generation of new neurons was significantly impaired. These results suggest that these stem cells, once thought to be dormant, are essential players in the regenerative process.
“We also looked at cells from mice of different ages and grew them in the model,” Lin says. “We found a decline in the ability of the older mice cells to generate new neurons. We think this is due to a decrease in the GBC population as we age, but we need to do more work to test this hypothesis and if so, develop ways to rejuvenate them.”
An Easy-To-Use Model
Lead author of the study, Juliana Gutschow Gameiro, a former Ph.D. student visiting GSBS, came to Tufts from the State University of Londrina, Parana, in Brazil. Lin says she was dedicated to developing a model that was easy to create in labs with limited funds and equipment.
“Because loss of smell is associated with COVID-19, as well as with Parkinson’s disease and other conditions, a much larger number of researchers from a variety of different fields have begun researching olfactory epithelial cells in the last few years,” says Lin.
“We wanted to develop an easy-to-use model so that non-stem cell biologists and those working in labs with limited resources could use it to better understand how olfactory neurons regenerate and what happens that causes that process to diminish or fail completely,” he says.
Next Step: A Human Organoid
The ultimate goal is to use this mouse-tissue model of olfactory sensory neurons as a pathway to developing a human organoid that can be used to screen drugs to treat people whose sense of smell is significantly diminished or gone.
Organoids make pre-clinical trial research quicker, less expensive, and potentially more effective than using whole animals or existing human cell cultures. Organoids have already been developed for lungs, kidneys, and other organs, but not for human olfactory tissue.
“It’s challenging to get pure olfactory tissue from humans,” Lin says. Individuals are anesthetized and a brush similar to a COVID test wand is pushed deep into the nasal cavity. Unlike in their mouse model, human respiratory stem cells and olfactory stem cells collected in this process are difficult to separate.
The research team’s next challenge is to develop a simple, inexpensive technique for separating out the human olfactory stem cells and coaxing them to grow in the lab.
Research reported in this article was supported by the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R21 DC018681-01 and R01 DC017869-03, the Coordenaҫão de Aperfeiҫoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil, and the German Research Foundation (DFG) under the Walter Benjamin Program, and by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. Complete information on authors, methodology and conflicts of interest is available in the published paper. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders.
END
Researchers develop innovative model to study sense of smell
New study suggests stem cells thought to be dormant may offer clues to why sense of smell is lost or declines
2025-06-03
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Birds may be drinking on the wing, but in moderation
2025-06-03
A new paper published in Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology examines alcohol consumption in avian species.
In “The proof is in the plumage: a method for detecting dietary ethanol exposure in birds by testing for ethyl glucuronide in feathers,” authors Cynthia Y. Wang-Claypool, Ammon Corl, Joseph Jones, Jimmy A. McGuire, Rauri C.K. Bowie and Robert Dudley investigated whether birds that eat sugar-rich foods—like fruit and nectar—might regularly consume alcohol produced by natural fermentation. ...
Collaboration can unlock Australia’s energy transition without sacrificing natural capital
2025-06-03
Decarbonizing Australia’s economy and protecting the country’s most critical natural resources are both possible but will require significant collaboration between energy developers, state and local governments, landowners, and interest groups, according to new research led by Princeton and The University of Queensland.
The research, published May 29 in Nature Sustainability, demonstrates that Australia can fully decarbonize its domestic and energy export economies by 2060 while avoiding harm to important areas for biodiversity outcomes, safeguarding agricultural activities, and respecting Indigenous land rights.
“The amount ...
Study identifies proteins involved in the effectiveness of immunotherapy against blood cancer
2025-06-03
A study conducted by researchers at the Center for Cell-Based Therapy (CTC) highlights key proteins and signaling pathways involved in the efficacy of immunotherapy based on CAR-T cells (lymphocytes modified in the laboratory to fight cancer).
The CTC is a Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Center (RIDC) funded by FAPESP and based at the Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP) in Brazil.
The research, published in the Journal of Proteome Research, was carried out by John Oluwafemi Teibo, a doctoral student at FMRP-USP and FAPESP scholarship ...
Cannabis extract could treat fungal diseases
2025-06-03
Two cannabis-derived compounds have shown remarkable effectiveness against fungal pathogens in laboratory tests, according to new Macquarie University research.
In a study published in The Journal of Neglected Tropical Diseases (PLOS NTDs), researchers discovered that bioactives Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabidivarin (CBDV) killed harmfulCryptococcus neoformans - a WHO-listed priority fungal pathogen. The compounds also killed dermatophytes that cause common skin infections, and much ...
Pancreatic cancer spreads to liver or lung thanks to this protein
2025-06-03
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Levi.Gadye@ucsf.edu, (415) 502-6397
Subscribe to UCSF News
A protein called PCSK9 determines how pancreatic cancer cells metastasize to different parts of the body.
Scientists at UC San Francisco have discovered how pancreatic cancer cells thrive in the lungs or liver, environments that are as distinct to cells as the ocean and desert are to animals. The spread of cancer cells to organs like these often produces the very first symptoms of pancreatic ...
Eating an array of smaller fish could be nutrient-dense solution to overfishing
2025-06-03
ITHACA, N.Y. - To satisfy the seafood needs of billions of people, offering them access to a more biodiverse array of fish creates opportunities to mix-and-match species to obtain better nutrition from smaller portions of fish.
The right combination of certain species can provide up to 60% more nutrients than if someone ate the same quantity of even a highly nutritious species, according to an analysis by Cornell University researchers.
“This research hopefully highlights the importance of biodiversity, not just because of a moral quandary that we’re causing a mass extinction on Earth, but also because biodiversity can lead to better outcomes ...
Han studying potential of next generation telepresence
2025-06-03
Bo Han, Associate Professor, Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), received funding for: “I-Corps: Translation Potential of Next Generation Telepresence Enriched by Immersive Technologies.”
Han aims to conduct extensive customer discovery and assess the value and potential of next-generation telepresence enriched by immersive technologies.
He will conduct interviews focused on three main customer segments: (1) education and training, (2) healthcare, and (3) fashion design. ...
Emory study finds molecular link between air pollution and pregnancy risks
2025-06-03
A new study by Emory University researchers, published Thursday in Environmental Science & Technology, found that exposure to the tiny particles in air pollution during pregnancy can disrupt maternal metabolisms, altering key biological pathways. These changes were associated with increased risk of various negative birth outcomes, including premature birth.
The study, which analyzed blood samples provided by 330 pregnant women from the Atlanta metropolitan area, is believed to be the first to investigate how exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) commonly found in air pollution ...
Controlling bacteria with light: from tackling antibiotic resistance to “bacterial robots”
2025-06-03
A groundbreaking technique developed by Politecnico di Milano researchers is enabling scientists to control specific bacterial functions using light-sensitive materials. The Engineering Of bacteria to See light (EOS) project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), has pioneered a system that allows bacteria to sense light and convert light energy into electrical signals across their membranes without the need for any genetic modification. This method is being explored as a promising solution to the growing global challenge of antibiotic resistance.
Its potential applications include ...
Johns Hopkins study shows how scientists can use black holes as supercolliders
2025-06-03
As federal funding cuts impact decades of research, scientists could turn to black holes for cheaper, natural alternatives to expensive facilities searching for dark matter and similarly elusive particles that hold clues to the universe’s deepest secrets, a new Johns Hopkins study of supermassive black holes suggests.
The findings could help complement multi-billion-dollar expenses and decades of construction needed for research complexes like Europe’s Large Hadron Collider, the largest and highest-energy particle accelerator in the world.
“One of the great hopes for particle colliders like the Large Hadron Collider is that ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
China successfully develops its first double-spoke superconducting cavity cryomodule
Study helps pinpoint areas where microplastics will accumulate
NRG Oncology study shows the addition of regional nodal irradiation does not decrease rates of invasive breast cancer recurrence in patients whose axillary nodes convert from positive to negative foll
Cancer treatments should be licensed for all ages, oncologists say
US self-reported race and ethnicity are poor proxies of genetic ancestry
Living towers of worms observed in nature
New AI transforms radiology with speed, accuracy never seen before
Brain mechanisms that distinguish imagination from reality discovered
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and risk of neovascular age-related macular degeneration
BMI, physical activity, and subsequent neoplasm risk among childhood cancer survivors
Chimpanzees can catch yawns from androids
The Holberg Prize conferred upon Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
Up and running—first room-temperature quantum accelerator of its kind in Europe
Using swarm intelligence to improve treatment of acute stroke
Weight stigma—not BMI—has the biggest effect on mental health after weight-loss surgery
Research alert: Alzheimer's gene therapy shows promise in preserving cognitive function
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai opens first Comprehensive Center for Refractive Solutions in New York
Storm ready: FAU Sensing Institute’s weather network delivers real-time forecasting
UChicago receives $21 million to establish visionary center in quantum engineering and health
Inherited genetic trait predicts resistance to immunotherapy for deadly skin cancer
Oxford physicists recreate extreme quantum vacuum effects
Talking therapy could be effective treatment for stroke survivors
A new method for studying mechanical proteins and their involvement in muscular disorders
Two big events shaped the herbivores during 60 million years but their role remains
TU Graz study: front brake lights could significantly reduce the number of road accidents
A new mathematical model helps European regions set suitable targets to close gender gaps in education
Rapid testing for sexually transmitted infections on the horizon
Tech sector emissions, energy use grow with rise of AI
Smithsonian research reveals that probiotics slow spread of deadly disease decimating Caribbean reefs
Fungal resistance in wheat: preserving biodiversity for food security
[Press-News.org] Researchers develop innovative model to study sense of smellNew study suggests stem cells thought to be dormant may offer clues to why sense of smell is lost or declines