What is it about?

The roles of CSP/OBP as essential proteins in the molecular underpinnings of insect olfaction have been established over thirty years of research, but do they truly fit with this function? The intracellular localization of CSPs and OBPs, which closes the "olfactory concept" and opens the "metabolic concept" is a new position that is examined in this work. If CSP and OBP can coexist in the same "intracellular regulation" research, there is potential for transferring CSP work into the context of intracellular cascades (lipid signalling pathways) .

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Why is it important?

The role of "Chemosensory Proteins/CSPs" and "Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs)" is becoming more controversial after thirty years of olfaction study. Misleading/False Name: The traditional "CSP" name suggests that they exclusively deal with taste or smell. This does not take into account their widespread tissue distribution: in non-sensory tissues like the gut, brain, fat body, corpora allata, thoracic gland, and female moth sex pheromone gland (Part 1). The argument is resolved by their important intracellular roles and connections, which show that CSPs have no part in smell.

Perspectives

I believe that the growing spin surrounding the CSP research made it essential to produce such an article. The two protein families are strongly thought to carry odors to olfactory receptors, and this was getting much worse than the OBP's somewhat similar issue. We can maintain the idea for another thirty years, but we cannot deny that the olfactory belief is refuted by the expression of both OBPs and CSPs outside of the olfactory paradigm. The argument over the tissue distribution, developmental pattern, and intracellular localization of CSPs (and OBPs), which are linked to lipids and various signaling cascades, is gone. To solve the function of CSPs (and OBPs), we must adopt fresh viewpoints.

Prof. Dr. Jean-François Jeff Picimbon
Qilu University of Technology

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This page is a summary of: Renaming the ‘OS-D/CSP’ Family (Part 2): ‘4-Cysteine Soluble Proteins’ (4CSPs)—Intracellular Functions, Insects, September 2026, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/insects17090940.
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