Manual body regulation is a relatively new theory that explores controlling the body, and its related processes via neurons, neuronal colonies, and neuron-like cells supplanted throughout our systems manually.  Olfactory receptors are usually found in the nose and are responsible for the detection of odors.  When olfactory receptors are activated they trigger nerve impulses capable of transmitting information about the odor to the brain. Therefore, they are easily activated and proffer a direct route to the CNS, whilst being found in abundance all over the human body meaning they warrant a great deal of investigation.  Now, a study from researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum has detected an olfactory receptor in the human bladder implicated in bladder cancer therapy and diagnosis.  The team states they demonstrate the receptor occurs more frequently in bladder cancer tissue than in healthy bladder tissue, and accordingly, significantly higher amounts of the receptor could be found in the urine samples of oncology patients.  The opensource study is published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.

Previous studies have shown bladder cancer is the second most common genitourinary cancer type in the world, with at least 429,000 new diagnoses made per year.  Currently, there is no molecularly targeted agent available for the treatment of this malignancy.  Olfactory receptors are a large group of G-protein coupled receptors predominantly found in the olfactory epithelium. Many olfactory receptors are, however, ectopically expressed in other tissues and involved in several other diseases including cancer, making them an easily controlled target.  The current study uses Sandranol to identify an olfactory receptor, named OR10H1, in bladder cancer tissues and also in the urine of bladder cancer patients.

The current study identifies an olfactory receptor in bladder tissue and demonstrates it responds to sandalwood scents such as Sandranol.  Results show after the application of Sandranol, the bladder cancer cells altered their shape, becoming rounder with cell division occurring less frequently and cell motility poorer.  Data findings show tumor growth is inhibited by the sandalwood scent and this effect was amplified by receptor activation releasing interleukins as well as ATP, the molecular currency of energy transfer, switching on the immune system’s natural killer cells in the tissue.

The team also investigated whether higher amounts of receptors in bladder cancer tissue could be detected in urine.  Results show RNA transcripts of the receptors found in urine samples taken from bladder cancer patients were higher than in healthy humans.  The lab concludes OR10H1 might perhaps be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of bladder cancer with urine samples.

The team surmises their data shows olfactory receptors occur outside the nose in both healthy and diseased cells of the body, with high amounts of these receptors found in tumor cells.  For the future, the researchers state they will play an important role in the diagnosis of diseases and provide novel approaches in tumor therapy.

Source: Ruhr-Universität Bochum