Identifying new approaches to regulate inflammation and cardiovascular disease by understanding the role of odorant receptors
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Continued to build from team's discovery that the Ms4a family of proteins is expressed in high levels in vascular cells. These proteins are found in nasal tissue and known to sense some odorant. These proteins differ from typical odorant receptors in their structure, and their effects are due to calcium entry into cells. This is a significant and novel finding that suggests an important, unrecognized role for these proteins in vascular biology. This discovery exceeded the research team's expectations for the initiative and poses an exciting new changemaking direction to the research
Learned that human vascular cells express specific odorant receptors as well as the proteins of the intracellular pathway mediating the effects of odorants. These receptors and proteins are found in smooth muscle cells that regulate dilation and constriction of arteries. While more evidence is needed, these studies support the possibility that odorants regulate the blood flow to organs and blood pressure by dilating or constricting arteries
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