Archive · 9 Jun 2025
Researchers Develop Innovative Model to Study Sense of Smell
Scientists are studying how we smell using a new 3D model.
They found that certain stem cells in the nose, called HBCs, help create new smell-sensing cells.
These cells were thought to be mostly inactive, but the study shows they are very important for repairing damage and making new cells.
The researchers also found that the ability to make new smell cells decreases with age.
The goal is to use this model to find drugs that can help people who have lost their sense of smell.
Researchers created a new 3D model to study the regeneration of smell neurons.
The model uses mouse tissue to study neuron formation in the nose.
HBCs, previously thought dormant, play a crucial role in producing new smell neurons.
Depleting HBCs in the model impaired new neuron generation.
The study found a decline in the ability to generate new neurons in older mice.
- Who
- Researchers at Tufts University developed the model.
- What
- Researchers developed a new model to study smell regeneration.
- When
- Published in Cell Reports Methods (no specific date).
- Where
- At Tufts University School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
- Why
- To understand how neurons form in the nose and why this process declines.
- Model Type
- Three-dimensional olfactory tissue mouse model (organoid)
- Key Finding
- Horizontal basal cells (HBCs) play a crucial role in smell neuron regeneration.
- Stem Cells Involved
- HBCs and Globose Basal Cells (GBCs)
- Impact on Neuron Generation
- Depleting HBCs impaired new neuron generation.
- Aging Effect
- Older mice cells showed a decline in neuron generation.
- Goal
- Develop a human organoid for drug screening to treat smell loss.