{
  "abstract": "The olfactory neuroepithelium (ON) collected with nasal swabs (NS) is a valuable source for studying brain processes in physiological and pathological conditions, due to its anatomical proximity to the brain and heterogeneous neural cell population. In this proof-of-concept study, we developed a protocol for co-culturing distinct cellular populations from ON, establishing a human olfactory neuroepithelium cell culture (hON) model from healthy individuals (HIs) without differentiation factors. We characterized the cellular composition of ON samples at harvesting, identifying sustentacular cells (Pan-CK⁺), neuronal cells (PGP9.5⁺), and ciliated respiratory cells (βIV-tubulin⁺) by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. We assessed the expression and distribution of TDP-43, Tau, and α-synuclein, together with their phosphorylated isoforms, to establish a physiological reference profile. Furthermore, Seeding Amplification Assay (SAA) analysis, including disease-positive and healthy control cohorts, confirmed the absence of aggregated protein species in HIs. While p-Tau and p-α-syn localization was preserved between collection and culture, p-TDP-43 displayed neuron-specific nuclear redistribution upon culture, suggesting distinct regulatory dynamics. Longitudinal monitoring revealed that hON cultures maintain a stable neuronal population for up to 21 days, after which cells transition toward a fibroblast-like phenotype. This study establishes NS-derived hON as a feasible model for investigating neurodegenerative mechanisms, providing a baseline for disease comparisons.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.",
    "Department of Surgery, Dentistry, Paediatrics and Gynaecology, Otolaryngology Section, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Francesco Silvestri",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-8365-1612"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Erika Bronzato"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ilaria Scambi",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7678-6359"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Valerio Arietti",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0700-2792"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Luca Sacchetto"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Raffaella Mariotti"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Gianluigi Zanusso",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5199-6264"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Matilde Bongianni",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6009-5502"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ermanna Turano",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0760-1787"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fvk167f7rvz12.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/cells15191824",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13664212",
  "id": "fvk167f7rvz12",
  "issns": [
    "2073-4409"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882522",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2809|Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221026131",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13664212?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13664212",
  "pmid": "42882522",
  "published": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fvk167f7rvz12.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:00Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42882522",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882522"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:02Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/cells15191824",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/15/19/1824"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2809|Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Olfactory Swab-Derived Human Neuroepithelium Cell Culture as a Novel Model to Study Neurodegeneration-Related Proteins.",
  "title_text": "Olfactory Swab-Derived Human Neuroepithelium Cell Culture as a Novel Model to Study Neurodegeneration-Related Proteins.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fvk167f7rvz12",
  "venue": "Cells",
  "versions": []
}