# The role of CFAP69 in olfaction

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $337,943

## Abstract

Necessary steps towards understanding the sense of smell include characterizing the relevant molecular components
that regulate olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) responses and analyzing behaviors of animal models that harbor abnormal
odor coding. Our initial studies in mice suggest that Cilia- and Flagella-Associated Protein 69 (CFAP69), an evolutionarily
conserved and poorly studied protein, plays a critical, yet unconventional, role in regulating olfactory transduction kinetics,
odor stimuli coding of OSNs and also olfactory behavior. CFAP69 is enriched in OSN cilia, where olfactory signal
transduction occurs. OSNs from CFAP69 conditional knockout mice display faster response kinetics in both on- and off-
phases of the response with little change in response size, and can fire action potentials more faithfully to repeated stimuli
than the control OSNs. CFAP69 conditional knockout mice, despite having higher temporal resolution in coding odor
stimuli at the peripheral sensory neuron level, performed inferiorly in a challenging olfactory task. In this proposal, we will:
1) Determine the role of CFAP69 in regulating OSN sensitivity, adaptation and action potential coding by detailed
electrophysiological analysis of odor responses at the levels of intact olfactory epithelium and isolated single cells from
OSN-specific conditional knockout mice; 2) Investigate the mechanisms by which CFAP69 exerts its effect by using both
a combined pharmacological and electrophysiological approach to determine the site of CFAP69 action in the transduction
cascade and a biochemical approach to identify its interaction protein partners; and 3) Investigate how altered OSN response
and odor stimuli coding affect olfactory behavior in OSN-specific conditional knockout mice. The proposed research will
bring new knowledge and new perspective to the understanding of the olfactory transduction process, olfactory stimuli
coding of OSNs and olfactory perception. The research will enhance our understanding of the fundamental biology of
olfaction and olfactory dysfunction.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9913494
- **Project number:** 5R01DC016065-03
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** HAIQING ZHAO
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $337,943
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9913494

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9913494, The role of CFAP69 in olfaction (5R01DC016065-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9913494. Licensed CC0.

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