AXXAM

Webinar

Ectopic Taste and Olfactory Receptors – Ubiquitous Chemosensation

12th November 2024

16.00 CET / 10.00 ET / 07.00 PT

About the Webinar:

Odorant and taste receptors together with their downstream signalling molecules have been detected in many tissues outside the olfactory epithelium or tongue, respectively. They frequently cluster in specialized chemoreceptor cells sparsely scattered along the epithelial lining of the airways and gastrointestinal tract.

By detecting irritants, pathogen-derived signals or nutrients these cells participate in a variety of nervous, endocrine or immune circuits with potential relevance for therapeutic intervention.

In addition, numerous studies have reported expression of taste or olfactory receptors in non-sensory cell types and claimed their contribution to regulate cell-specific functions. Finally, rare reports demonstrate the detection of chemosensing receptors as a result of aberrant epi- or genetic regulation in cancerous cells. As cancer specific antigens such receptors might bear potential as targets for immunotherapy.

In our webinar, we will provide selected cases for ectopic olfactory or taste receptors as potential drug targets together with AXXSense’s receptor platform for ligand discovery and characterization.        

In this webinar you will learn about:

  • The roles of olfactory and taste receptors in tissues other than nose and tongue.
  • Ectopic receptors as potential therapeutic targets.
  • Axxam’s experimental platform for ligand discovery and pharmacological characterization for olfactory and taste receptors.

Keywords:

Olfactory receptor; taste receptor; ectopic receptor; functional expression; cell-based assay; compound library; high-throughput screening; drug target; chemosensing.

Speakers:

  • Jörg Hüser, CSO – Axxam

  • Marcel Winnig, Scientific Officer and Team Leader of AXXSense – Axxam

Jörg Hüser studied Biology at the Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany. He received a PhD in Physiology working on excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac muscle cells. Following a postdoctoral training at Loyola University in Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine, in Maywood, IL, USA, he joined Bayer AG’s Pharma Research in Wuppertal, Germany. During his almost 25 year tenure at Bayer, he held different management positions, leading research units in Lead Discovery and Heart & Vascular Disease Research. In June 2023 he joined Axxam as Chief Scientific Officer.

Marcel Winnig is Scientific Officer and Team Leader of AXXSense, at Axxam.Prior to that he held the role of Principal Investigator in the Discovery Biology Group at Axxam, where he was responsible for all proprietary and service programs related to the flavour and fragrance platform.Before joining Axxam in 2007, he was a Ph.D. student at the German Institute of Human Nutrition investigating the structure-function relations of the sweet taste receptor. Marcel has co-authored several original peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He is co-inventor of different patents involving bitter taste receptors, olfactory receptors and new classes of savoury compounds.

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