Healthy Senses and Happy lives

Studying our chemical senses—smell, taste, chemesthesis, and interoception—provides vital insights into how we perceive and interact with our environment, as well as modulate our bodies needs, influencing both physical and mental health. Our senses play a crucial role in detecting harmful substances, guiding dietary choices, and regulating emotional responses, all of which impact overall well-being. By understanding these sensory mechanisms, we can develop better strategies for addressing health issues, enhancing quality of life, and fostering a more health-conscious society.

The better you measure the more olfactory deficit you find related to COVID-19, and Monell is involved in several ways to do just that. Participants in the Sense of Smell and COVID-19 study use a set of scratch-and-sniff odor cards based on the NIH Toolbox Odor ID Test, that directly tests one’s ability to smell a set of common odors. Another Monell review of over 100 smell studies found that tests asking participants to directly smell a sample odor reported 70 percent of subjects losing their sense of smell; however, self-report tests showed that only 50 percent of subjects claimed to have an olfactory deficit. And watch this space for more details about the pilot study on our rapid smell test for COVID-19.

Chemical-sensing cells in the gums of mice trigger the immune system to control bacteria in the mouth and protect against tissue-damaging infections that destroy supporting bone in teeth. Findings may lead to personalized dental treatment of periodontitis by harnessing one’s own innate immune system to regulate their oral microbiome.

Monell scientists are working to identify the molecular structure of the almost 400 smell receptors in the human nose, as well as map the genetic differences in how we smell. Using this catalog of odor data, they are developing large-scale machine-learning algorithms to predict odor quality based on molecular structure. They aim to ultimately engage commercial partners to build devices capable of detecting, generating, and sharing scents.

The Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research, an international group of researchers coalesced over the course of a weekend in early March after the first reports of Covid-19 related smell and taste loss were reported. Monell was at the center of its formation and remains integral to its continued research. These efforts have brought Monell faculty and staff directly onto the frontline of this pandemic. In one of its first publications, they found that in just over 4,000 participants with confirmed COVID-19, smell, taste, and chemosensory function were significantly reduced compared to their status before infection, suggesting that COVID-19 may disrupt sensory-neural pathways. Their preliminary findings confirmed loss of smell as a diagnostic symptom for COVID-19.

Are cultured human taste cells susceptible to the novel coronavirus, specifically cells that display the surface receptor ACE2 and co-receptor TMPRSS2 that the coronavirus uses to enter cells? Monell and colleagues’ taste cell lines will be used to determine the effect of COVID-19 infection on the cells’ ability to replicate and whether certain sub-types are more prone to being infected by the novel coronavirus.