Overview
- Two complementary Cell papers, published Tuesday, chart about 1,100 receptor types arranged as consistent horizontal bands across the nasal lining.
- The teams profiled roughly 5–5.5 million nasal neurons from more than 300 mice using single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, a method that pins gene activity to exact spots in tissue.
- The nasal stripes align with odor maps in the olfactory bulb, clarifying how signals travel from receptors in the nose to targets in the brain.
- Experiments identify a retinoic acid gradient that sets receptor positions during development, and altering that gradient shifted the bands up or down.
- An independent Dulac-lab study in the same issue reports matching maps and links nose locations to brain targets, while researchers now test human tissue to gauge conservation before any therapy attempts.