Detecting Intracellular Changes upon Odorant Binding using Transfected Non-Olfactory Cells

Olfaction is a powerful tool that can help humans decipher different scents. Interestingly, the use of olfaction can also be important in detecting toxic or harmful chemicals. Using olfactory receptors (OR), a biosensor can be built off a model similar to how chemoreceptors work within the human body. Interestingly, due to the resilience of cells, biosensors may have the ability to be placed anywhere around the world and serve a similar goal in odorant detection. One factor that is included in the creation of a cell-based odorant sensor, is the cell line being used. Only a limited number of ORs have been studied extensively to determine the different types of tissues and cells the receptor is expressed on. However, through the use of transfection, the addition of ORs onto exogenous cell lines can be achieved. The current study uses a resistance-based model that functions through Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS), where changes in resistance are measured after odorant addition. Using cell surface-staining of Hana 3A and GL-1 cells, the surface expression of OR was determined. The use of immunofluorescence when coupled with the detection of random cellular movement led to better understanding of how cells act after odorant addition. Collectively, this study was able to help shape the understanding that ORs can be transfected, and in certain cell lines they can hook up to the intracellular machinery