Ectopic Odorant Receptors Responding to Flavor Compounds in Skin Health and Disease: Current Insights and Future Perspectives

April 2022 in “ Critical reviews in food science and nutrition ”

Ruixuan Geng, Yanan Wang, Jing-Jing Fang, Yuhan Zhao, Mengjie Li, Seong‐Gook Kang, Kunlun Huang, Tao Tong

ectopic odorant receptors keratinocytes melanocytes fibroblasts wound healing hair growth melanin regulation skin barrier atopic dermatitis psoriasis G protein-coupled receptors ORs GPCRs

Studysummary This review examines the potential role of odorant receptors in human skin cells responding to flavor compounds and their implications for skin health and disease, without providing new clinical results. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

This review explores the role of ectopic odorant receptors (ORs) in skin health and disease, highlighting their activation by flavor compounds from food and plant essential oils. ORs, found in skin cells like keratinocytes, melanocytes, and fibroblasts, are involved in various skin processes such as wound healing, hair growth, melanin regulation, and conditions like atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. The study emphasizes the potential of targeting skin ORs with flavor compounds as a novel therapeutic strategy, given their classification as highly druggable G protein-coupled receptors.

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