Assay system for olfactory receptors, ScentVista 400™

Control of Fragrance and Unpleasant Odors

There are approximately 400 types of olfactory receptors in the human nose. When these receptors recognize certain odorants and the information is transmitted to the brain, we can recognize odors.

Olfactory receptors are difficult to analyze and we have little knowledge about what odorants they recognize. Many of the olfactory receptors are unstable on cultured cells, which has previously made it difficult to examine the responses of receptors to fragrance raw materials by giving them to cultured cells from outside in experiments.
To solve this challenge, Kao introduced a protein engineering approach and successfully expressed on the surface of cultured cells almost all of human olfactory receptors, and has established ScentVista 400™, a technology that comprehensively analyzes how olfactory receptors respond to odorants. This technology suggests that the human sense of smell can be understood through the response patterns of olfactory receptors to odorants. (Video, Figure 1).

Diagrams showing the results obtained using ScentVista 400 to investigate how olfactory receptors respond to odorants. One example shows similar olfactory receptor response patterns from different fragrance raw materials, and another shows how the patterns vary with concentrations of the same odorant.

Figure 1 Response patterns of olfactory receptors to odorants using the ScentVista 400 technology

We believe that the method established in this research will deepen our understanding of the nature of the sense of smell and how the sense of smell is generated via olfactory receptors.

Assay system for olfactory receptors, ScentVista 400

The following video includes audio, and a text transcription of its visual content is available.

A transcript is available here.

00:00 A flower swaying in the wind in nature is described.
00:07 Three methods for analyzing scents are introduced: instrumental analysis, direct smelling by an expert, and microplate assay based on the responses of olfactory receptors.
00:25 The scent is being analyzed in a measuring instruments.
00:33 An expert sniffs and evaluates the scent in a test tube.
00:39 Approximately 400 olfactory receptors in the human nose can detect scents. An illustration of the microplate evaluation method based on the responses of olfactory receptors is shown. Cultured cells, each expressing a unique olfactory receptor, are seeded in the individual wells of a microplate.
00:48 In this microplate evaluation method, the response patterns of approximately 400 olfactory receptors can be visualized in the form of a three-dimensional bar graph.
00:53 An automated dispenser dispenses the medium containing the fragrant substance into the microplate wells.
01:02 A woman smelling the scent of a flower and the receptor pattern corresponding to the floral scent at that moment are described. Conventional techniques can evaluate only approximately 10% of the 400 receptors.
01:13 The process by which olfactory receptors are expressed in cells is described. The genes coding for olfactory receptors are taken up by the cell, transported into the nucleus, and transcribed. The transcripts are then translated into proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum.
As shown in the left panel, olfactory receptors remain in the endoplasmic reticulum and cannot respond to odorant molecules. By contrast, the right panel depicts how Kao Corporation’s proprietary technology facilitates the migration of olfactory receptors to the cell surface so that they can respond to odorant molecules.
01:19 Kao Corporation’s proprietary technology allows the evaluation of the majority of olfactory response receptors.
01:27 A researcher using direct smelling to evaluate a fragrance is shown. The logo depicts the symbolism of Kao Corporation’s proprietary technology.
01:44 Receptor patterns for various scents are depicted. The first is for perfume, a scent that people love; the second is for flowers; and the third is for citrus fruits.
01:56 An example is presented where experiences associated with fragrances in everyday life are unraveled. The smell of raw meat is transformed into a delicious aroma by adding herbs to enhance the flavor, and changes in the receptor patterns are introduced.
02:13 ScentVista 400™: From here on, new possibilities for fragrances unfold.

Sensory Science

Sensory Science

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