Olfactory binding protein

Advances in the production, immobilisation and characterisation of mammalian olfactory receptors led to the development of biosensors where isolated olfactory binding proteins were deposited on the surface of QMBs [102, 103] or were connected to nanoelectrodes [104]. Although still at the development stage, such an array-type device coated with different olfactory receptors will be a powerful and useful tool for detecting and discriminating odorants in the future. 

Briand L., Nespoulous C., Huet J. C. and Pernollet J. C. (2001a) Disulfide pairing and secondary structure of ASP 1, an olfactory-binding protein from honeybee (Apis mellifera L). J. Pept. Res. 58, 540-545. 

Pernollet, J.-C. L. Briand, Structural recognition between odorants, olfactory-binding proteins and olfactory receptors — first events in odour coding, in Flavor Perception, A.J. Taylor, D.D. Roberts, Eds., Blackwell Publ., Ames, 2004, p. 86. 

Lee K.-H., Wells R.G. and Reed R. (1987). Isolation of an olfactory complementary DNA similarity to retinol-binding protein suggests a role in olfaction. Science 253, 1053-1066. 

Unfortunately, the term OBP has been rather imprecisely used in the literature. It sometimes refers to the olfactory function played by proteins, such as the pheromone-binding protein from BmorPBP. However, quite often OBP... 

Many pheromones travel from the tissue of their synthesis via the bloodstream to the surface of the body. They are also transported by larger molecules, notably proteins, both when being emitted by an odor donor ( outgoing ) and when being received in the olfactory mucosa of an addressee ( incoming ). In the saliva of the male pig, the pheromone-binding protein... 

Odorant (O) arrives at the mucous layer and binds directly to an olfactory receptor (OR) or to a binding protein (BP) that carries it to the OR. 

IGF-binding proteins. Protein binding of IGF-1 serves to increase its half-life. Thorne et al. [109] demonstrated that in rats, nasally administered IGF-1 was rapidly transported into the brain. IGF-1 uptake into the brain appeared to follow two routes, through olfactory nerve tracts and through trigeminal associated extracellular pathways. The net effect of nasal IGF-1 administration in rats was to rapidly elicit biological effects at several sites in the brain. 

Dear T. N., Boehm T., Keverne E. B. and Rabbitts T. H. (1991). Novel genes for potential ligand-binding proteins in subregions of the olfactory mucosa. EMBO Journal 10, 2813-2819. 

Pikielny C. W., Hasan G., Rouyer F. and Rosbash M. (1994). Members of a Family of drosophila putative odorant-binding proteins are expressed in different subsets of olfactory hairs. Neuron 12, 35 -9. 

The biochemistry of odor detection involves at least three types of protein odor receptors (ORs) odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and odor degrading enzymes (ODEs). ORs are expressed by olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) and localized in the membranes of the ciliated dendrites (Figure 14.1). The result of detection is translated into neuronal electrical activity by transductory proteins. But while transductory proteins are more or less common for all olfactory neurons, differential expression of ORs, OBPs and ODEs allows the neurons to detect specific odor molecules. 

Danty E., Briand L., Michard-Vanhee C., Perez V., Arnold G. and Gaudemer O., Huet D., Huet J. C., Ouali C., Masson C. and Pernollet J. C. (1999) Cloning and expression of a queen pheromone-binding protein in the honeybee an olfactory-specific, developmentally regulated protein. J. Neurosci. 19, 7468-7475. 

Kim M. S. and Smith D. P. (2001) The invertebrate odorant-binding protein LUSH is required for normal olfactory behavior in Drosophila. Chem. Senses 26, 195-199. 

---