PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Adilbay, Dauren
AU  - Gonzales, Junior
AU  - Zazhytska, Marianna
AU  - Demetrio de Souza Franca, Paula
AU  - Roberts, Sheryl
AU  - Viray, Tara D.
AU  - Artschwager, Raik
AU  - Patel, Snehal
AU  - Kodra, Albana
AU  - Overdevest, Jonathan B.
AU  - Chow, Chun Yuen
AU  - King, Glenn F.
AU  - Jain, Sanjay K.
AU  - Ordonez, Alvaro A.
AU  - Carroll, Laurence S.
AU  - Lomvardas, Stavros
AU  - Reiner, Thomas
AU  - Pillarsetty, Nagavarakishore
TI  - Noninvasive Diagnostic Method to Objectively Measure Olfaction and Diagnose Smell Disorders by a Molecularly Targeted Fluorescence Imaging Agent
AID  - 10.2967/jnumed.123.266123
DP  - 2024 Aug 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 1293--1300
VI  - 65
IP  - 8
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/65/8/1293.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/65/8/1293.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2024 Aug 01; 65
AB  - Despite the recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of olfaction, no tools are currently available to noninvasively identify loss of smell. Because of the substantial increase in patients presenting with coronavirus disease 2019–related loss of smell, the pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to develop quantitative methods. Methods: Our group investigated the use of a novel fluorescent probe named Tsp1a-IR800P as a tool to diagnose loss of smell. Tsp1a-IR800P targets sodium channel 1.7, which plays a critical role in olfaction by aiding the signal propagation to the olfactory bulb. Results: Intuitively, we have identified that conditions leading to loss of smell, including chronic inflammation and coronavirus disease 2019, correlate with the downregulation of sodium channel 1.7 expression in the olfactory epithelium, both at the transcript and at the protein levels. We demonstrated that lower Tsp1a-IR800P fluorescence emissions significantly correlate with loss of smell in live animals—thus representing a potential tool for its semiquantitative assessment. Currently available methods rely on delayed subjective behavioral studies. Conclusion: This method could aid in significantly improving preclinical and clinical studies by providing a way to objectively diagnose loss of smell and therefore aid the development of therapeutic interventions.