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Allelic variation of the Tas1r3 taste receptor gene selectively affects behavioral and neural taste responses to sweeteners in the F2 hybrids between C57BL/6ByJ and 129P3/J mice.

Recent studies have shown that the T1R3 receptor protein encoded by the Tas1r3 gene is involved in transduction of sweet taste. To assess ligand specificity of the T1R3 receptor, we analyzed the association of Tas1r3 allelic variants with taste responses in mice. In the F2 hybrids between the C57BL/6ByJ (B6) and 129P3/J (129) inbred mouse strains, we determined genotypes of markers on chromosome 4, where Tas1r3 resides, measured consumption of taste solutions presented in two-bottle preference tests, and recorded integrated responses of the chorda tympani gustatory nerve to lingual application of taste stimuli. For intakes and preferences, significant linkages to Tas1r3 were found for the sweeteners sucrose, saccharin, and D-phenylalanine but not glycine. For chorda tympani responses, significant linkages to Tas1r3 were found for the sweeteners sucrose, saccharin, D-phenylalanine, D-tryptophan, and SC-45647 but not glycine, L-proline, L-alanine, or L-glutamine. No linkages to distal chromosome 4 were detected for behavioral or neural responses to non-sweet quinine, citric acid, HCl, NaCl, KCl, monosodium glutamate, inosine 5'-monophosphate, or ammonium glutamate. These results demonstrate that allelic variation of the Tas1r3 gene affects gustatory neural and behavioral responses to some, but not all, sweeteners. This study describes the range of ligand sensitivity of the T1R3 receptor using an in vivo approach and, to our knowledge, is the first genetic mapping study of activity in gustatory nerves.

Alleles↗

Functional interaction between T2R taste receptors and G-protein alpha subunits expressed in taste receptor cells.

Bitter taste perception is a conserved chemical sense against the ingestion of poisonous substances in mammals. A multigene family of G-protein-coupled receptors, T2R (so-called TAS2R or TRB) receptors and a G-protein alpha subunit (Galpha), gustducin, are believed to be key molecules for its perception, but little is known about the molecular basis for its interaction. Here, we use a heterologous expression system to determine a specific domain of gustducin necessary for T2R coupling. Two chimeric Galpha16 proteins harboring 37 and 44 gustducin-specific sequences at their C termini (G16/gust37 and G16/gust44) responded to different T2R receptors with known ligands, but G16/gust 23, G16/gust11, and G16/gust5 did not. The former two chimeras contained a predicted beta6 sheet, an alpha5 helix, and an extreme C terminus of gustducin, and all the domains were indispensable to the expression of T2R activity. We also expressed G16 protein chimeras with the corresponding domain from other Galpha(i) proteins, cone-transducin (Galpha(t2)), Galpha(i2), and Galpha(z) (G16/t2, G16/i2, and G16/z). As a result, G16/t2 and G16/i2 produced specific responses of T2Rs, but G16/z did not. Because Galpha(t2) and Galpha(i2) are expressed in the taste receptor cells, these G-protein alpha(i) subunits may also be involved in bitter taste perception via T2R receptors. The present Galpha16-based chimeras could be useful tools to analyze the functions of many orphan G-protein-coupled taste receptors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Increasing willingness to taste novel foods: effects of nutrition and taste information.

This study was designed to examine the effects of various kinds of information on willingness to ingest novel foods in individuals varying in the extent to which they reported that nutritional concerns affected their food choices. Male and female volunteers ranging in age from 10 to 79 (N = 401), saw six familiar and six novel foods, and received no information, taste likability information, general nutrition information, or specific nutrition information about the whole set of foods. They rated their willingness to taste each food, with the clear implication that their willingness ratings would determine which foods they would taste later in the study. On a separate questionnaire, they also rated the factors influencing their food everyday choices, and these ratings were used to compute an "importance of nutrition" score for each individual. Results indicated that older subjects were generally more willing to try novel foods than younger ones, that general nutrition information was effective for high school and college students, and that specific nutrition information was influential for young adults. It was also found that general nutrition information increased willingness to taste novel food in subjects for whom nutrition is important and decreased such willingness in subjects for whom nutrition is not important.

Adolescent↗

In situ tight-seal recordings of taste substance-elicited action currents and voltage-gated Ba currents from single taste bud cells in the peeled epithelium of mouse tongue.

We investigated the taste responses of single taste-bud cells (TBCs) in mice by applying stimuli only on receptor membranes acclimated to deionized water under tight-seal cell-attached voltage-clamp conditions, while their basolateral membranes were irrigated with a physiological saline solution. For this irrigation, we developed a new method: a peeled-tongue epithelium with TBCs mounted on a recording chamber where the peeled epithelium separated the irrigating solutions for each membrane as it separated in situ. Although no quinine-elicited action potentials had been reported, TBCs elicited a long-lasting train of biphasic currents derived from the action potentials in response to 10 mM quinine, in addition to responses to 10 mM HCl, or 200 mM NaCl dissolved in deionized water. These results indicate that quinine as well as HCl and NaCl depolarizes TBCs and generate action potentials. Under whole-cell recording conditions, TBCs generated action potentials, and voltage-gated currents such as LVA and HVA Ca currents, TTX-sensitive Na currents, and TEA/4-AP-sensitive K currents on depolarization. These voltage-gated channels were shown to exist predominantly on the basolateral membranes. We discussed the receptor mechanisms and the role of taste substance-elicited action potentials.

Action Potentials↗

Apical K+ channels in Necturus taste cells. Modulation by intracellular factors and taste stimuli.

The apically restricted, voltage-dependent K+ conductance of Necturus taste receptor cells was studied using cell-attached, inside-out and outside-out configurations of the patch-clamp recording technique. Patches from the apical membrane typically contained many channels with unitary conductances ranging from 30 to 175 pS in symmetrical K+ solutions. Channel density was so high that unitary currents could be resolved only at negative voltages; at positive voltages patch recordings resembled whole-cell recordings. These multi-channel patches had a small but significant resting conductance that was strongly activated by depolarization. Patch current was highly K+ selective, with a PK/PNa ratio of 28. Patches containing single K+ channels were obtained by allowing the apical membrane to redistribute into the basolateral membrane with time. Two types of K+ channels were observed in isolation. Ca(2+)-dependent channels of large conductance (135-175 pS) were activated in cell-attached patches by strong depolarization, with a half-activation voltage of approximately -10 mV. An ATP-blocked K+ channel of 100 pS was activated in cell-attached patches by weak depolarization, with a half-activation voltage of approximately -47 mV. All apical K+ channels were blocked by the sour taste stimulus citric acid directly applied to outside-out and perfused cell-attached patches. The bitter stimulus quinine also blocked all channels when applied directly by altering channel gating to reduce the open probability. When quinine was applied extracellularly only to the membrane outside the patch pipette and also to inside-out patches, it produced a flickery block. Thus, sour and bitter taste stimuli appear to block the same apical K+ channels via different mechanisms to produce depolarizing receptor potentials.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Changes in outward K+ currents in response to two types of sweeteners in sweet taste transduction of gerbil taste cells.

Using the whole cell patch clamp technique, we measured changes in outward K+ currents of gerbil taste cells in response to different kinds of sweeteners. Outward K+ currents of the taste cell induced by depolarizing pulses were suppressed by sweet stimuli such as 10 mM Na-saccharin. The membrane-permeable analog of cAMP, cpt-cAMP, also decreased outward K+ currents. On the other hand, the K+ currents were enhanced by amino acid sweeteners such as 10 mM D-tryptophan. The outward K+ current was enhanced by external application of Ca(2+)-transporting ionophore, 5 microM ionomycin, and intracellular application of 5 microM inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). The outward K+ currents were no longer suppressed by 10 mM Na-saccharin containing 20 microM gurmarin, but were still enhanced by 10 mM D-tryptophan containing 20 microM gurmarin. These results suggest that sweet taste transduction for one group of sweeteners such as Na-saccharin in gerbils is concerned with an increase of the intracellular cAMP level, and that the transduction for the other group of sweeteners such as D-tryptophan is concerned with an increase of the intracellular IP3 level which releases Ca2+ from the internal stores.

Animals↗

TASTE OF SODIUM CHLORIDE SOLUTIONS AFTER ADAPTATION TO SODIUM CHLORIDE: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE "WATER TASTE".

After adaptation of the human tongue to sodium chloride solutions, subjects reported the taste quality of sodium chloride solutions both above and below the adapting concentration. The adapting solutions became tasteless; solutions weaker than the adapting concentration tasted sour or bitter, and stronger solutions were reported as sweet or salty. The taste of both water and sodium chloride solutions is specific depending on prior adaptation.

Acclimatization↗

Using biosensors to detect the release of serotonin from taste buds during taste stimulation.

CHO cells transfected with high-affinity 5HT receptors were used to detect and identify the release of serotonin from taste buds. Taste cells release 5HT when depolarized or when stimulated with bitter, sweet, or sour tastants. Sour- and depolarization-evoked release of 5HT from taste buds is triggered by Ca2+ influx from the extracellular fluid. In contrast, bitter- and sweet-evoked release of 5HT is triggered by Ca2+ derived from intracellular stores.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

[The effect of taste deafferentation on the phenomenon of pre-exposure taste solutions in rats].

After 2-day pre-exposure of rats to sucrose, saccharin or sodium chloride pairing with water (a two-bottle technique) the animals were deprived of liquid for 48 hours. After the deprivation was over, the rats were exposed to the familiar solution (a one-bottle technique) for 15 minutes. The rats which had already tried the taste solutions drank them in a greater amount in the 15-minute test as compared to those which had not been exposed to the taste solutions. In rats with bilateral deafferentation of the tongue, the preliminary testing of saccharin and sodium chloride solutions did not produce any effect on the volume intake during the 15-minute test. The increasing influence of the pre-exposure to sucrose solution could be seen both in deafferentated and in control sham-operated rats. The role played by the gustatory apparatus at the early stages of liquid intake as well as the effect of taste on short-term memory are discussed.

Afferent Pathways↗

Taste thresholds, preferences for sweet taste and dental caries in 15-year-old children. A pilot study.

The aim of the present investigation was to study the relationship between taste acuity and dental caries. The material consisted of 26 15-year-olds. Twelve (7 girls and 5 boys) had a high prevalence of dental caries and 14 (6 girls and 8 boys) had a low prevalence. The average DFS in the two groups was 26.9 (range 19-39) ad 1.5 (range 0-4) respectively. Recognition thresholds were determined for sweet and, as a control, for salty, sour and bitter taste using a full-mouth technique. A modified method of limit was used. No significant difference in thresholds could be found between the different caries groups. Preferences for sweet taste were also determined in 14 of the subjects. They were asked to indicate the preferred solution of sucrose (.15, .30, .60 and 1.20M), presented randomly. The groups did not differ markedly in this test either. No correlation between threshold values and preferences for sucrose could be established.

Adolescent↗

Biochemical studies of taste sensation. XIII. Enantiomeric specificity of alanine taste receptor sites in catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.

Specific binding of amino acid taste stimuli is known to occur to a sedimentable fraction (P2) from catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) taste epithelium or to purified plasma membranes from that fraction. L-Alanine, a potent taste stimulus for the catfish, binds in a reversible and saturable manner to these preparations. The extent to which the enantiomeric stimuli, L- and D-alanine, interact with the same or different receptor/transduction processes is investigated here both electrophysiologically and biochemically. With an electrophysiological assay, L-alanine was the more potent stimulus across a concentration range of 10(-9)-10(-3) M, yet both enantiomers displayed approximately the same threshold. The concentration-electrophysiological response functions for each enantiomer were different. That of L-alanine was approximately linear across the (log) concentration range while that of D-alanine was non-linear, with small but definitely observable responses being noted from 10(-9)-10(-5) M D-alanine, and larger incremental responses thereafter. With most of the nerve bundle preparations studies, L- and D-alanine cross-adapted one another, but this cross-adaptation was not always complete. Experiments in which both L- and D-alanine were present in a 1:1 mixture of equally stimulatory concentrations suggested the existence of receptor or transduction processes unique to each enantiomer. Biochemically binding studies demonstrated high affinity binding sites for both enantiomers with values of Kd-app for L-alanine of 1.5 microM and for D-alanine of 25 microM. For both enantiomers, additional lower-affinity binding sites were observable. The capacity of the lower-affinity sites was particularly great for D-alanine. The enantiomers competed one with the other for binding, with L-alanine showing greater competitive ability than D-alanine at low concentrations. For the high affinity sites, double-reciprocal plots of the data suggested a competitive mechanism. The lower affinity sites for D-alanine were less accessible to L-alanine compared with the high affinity sites of D-alanine. Both the biochemical and electrophysiological results indicate that while a portion of the responses to L- and D-alanine occurs through a common receptor/transduction process, there exist independent receptor/transduction processes for the enantiomers, L- and D-alanine.

Alanine↗

Conditioned taste aversions: generalization to taste mixtures.

Rats were trained to take their daily water ration within a 30-min session, during which the number of licks per 10-sec presentation of a drinking tube could be recorded. During one of these sessions, one of three stimuli (sucrose, NaCl or HCl) was presented, followed by the administration of cyclophosphamide to produce a conditioned taste aversion. When tested with mixtures of the conditioned stimulus (CS) with the other two stimuli and also with quinine hydrochloride, the animals avoided mixtures containing the CS in proportion to its concentration in the mixture. Although the natural preferences and aversions for these stimuli interacted somewhat with the learned taste aversions, rats responded to the presence of a CS in a mixture and did not generalize to other stimuli not containing the CS. Thus, the generalization of conditioned taste aversions provides a good measure of the behavioral similarities among gustatory stimuli.

Animals↗

Modification of the gerbil's taste behavior by the sucrose taste antagonist p-nitrophenyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside.

Since the gerbil's chorda tympani nerve response to sucrose is antagonized by p-nitrophenyl alpha-D-glucopyransoide (PNP-Glu), the present taste aversion behavioral experiments sought to determine whether the gerbil's behavioral gustatory responses could be modified by adding PNP-Glu to taste solutions. Results demonstrated that the gerbil's aversion to sucrose was affected by the addition of PNP-Glu, but that the avoidance was overcome by the addition of high enough concentrations of the antagonist. When mixtures of sucrose and quinine were tested, the gerbil's sucrose aversion was unaffected, nor was any change noted in the taste behavior of gerbils trained to avoid 0.1 M sodium chloride after the addition of PNP-Glu.

Animals↗

Methyl xanthines enhance taste: evidence for modulation of taste by adenosine receptor.

The methyl xanthines (MX), theophylline, caffeine, and theobromine, are potent antagonists of adenosine receptors. Adaptation of the human tongue to methyl xanthines at concentrations ranging from 10(-5) M to 10(-2) M was found to potentiate taste. The artificial sweetener acesulfam-K, which has a bitter component, was potentiated the most by MX, i.e., approximately 100%. This increase in perceived intensity for acesulfam-K occurred at 10(-5) M MX, a concentration known to inhibit adenosine receptors but below that required to inhibit phosphodiesterase. Increasing the concentration of MX as high as 10(-2) M did not increase the degree of enhancement appreciably. Taste enhancement was found for NaCl and quinine hydrochloride as well. When 10(-5) M adenosine was added to the MX, the potentiation was reversed. The human results were confirmed by animal studies in which single unit extracellular recordings were made from the nucleus of the solitary tract. These results suggest that the inhibitory A1 adenosine receptor plays an important local role in taste perception.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

Conditioned taste aversion in rats for a threonine-deficient diet: demonstration by the taste reactivity test.

Rats avoid a diet that is deficient in one or more essential amino acids (EAAs). This phenomenon is thought to involve the development of a "learned aversion" for the sensory properties or spatial placement associated with the deficient diet. The dietary self-selection technique has been widely used to show this avoidance of the deficient diet. Because avoidance does not necessarily imply taste aversion, we used the Taste Reactivity Test initially created by Grill and Norgren (1978) to analyze the affective reactivity pattern of rats that ingested a threonine-deficient diet. The results showed that there was an increase in the aversive responses when ingesting the threonine-deficient (Thr-Dev) diet, compared to a control diet, without changes in the hedonic responses. The aversive reactions were mainly gaping, and to a lesser extent chin rubbing and head shaking. This asymmetrical shift in the Thr-Dev diet palatability is consistent with a two-dimensional hypothesis of palatability, indicating that the aversive palatability of the deficient diet was increased while the positive palatability did not change. Further evidence indicates that rats do not develop a normal behavioral satiety sequence after ingesting the threonine-deficient diet. These results indicate that a true aversion is formed to the taste of a diet that is deficient in an essential amino acid.

Animals↗

Qualitative differences in polysaccharide and sugar tastes in the rat: a two-carbohydrate taste model.

A conditioned taste aversion paradigm was used to assess the qualitative similarities between the tastes of a polysaccharide (Polycose) solution and sugar solutions (sucrose, maltose, glucose, fructose). In Experiment I, three groups of female rats were water deprived and conditioned to avoid a 0.025 M Polycose, a 0.1 M sucrose, or a 0.1 M maltose solution by pairing solution consumption with a lithium chloride (LiCl) injection; in a control group water consumption was paired with the LiCl injection. The extent to which the experimental groups generalized their conditioned aversion to the other three solutions was then assessed. The Polycose-conditioned group avoided the maltose solution more than the sucrose solution, and the maltose-conditioned group avoided the Polycose solution more than the sucrose solution. The sucrose-conditioned group avoided the maltose and Polycose solutions to the same relatively low degree. In additional tests the three experimental groups showed similar aversions to a glucose solution, but only the sucrose-conditioned rats avoided a fructose solution. Rats in a second experiment also displayed relatively little cross-generalization between Polycose and sucrose aversions even though they were tested with different solution concentrations. Additional tests confirmed the results obtained in Experiment 1 with maltose, glucose, and fructose solutions, and also revealed that the sucrose-conditioned group, but not the Polycose-conditioned group avoided saccharin solutions. Neither Polycose- nor sucrose-conditioned groups avoided quinine, sodium chloride, or hydrochloric acid solutions. These results, along with other recent findings, suggest that rats have two types of "carbohydrate" taste receptors, one for polysaccharides and one for sucrose, which produce qualitatively distinct gustatory sensations.

Animals↗

Curculin, a sweet-tasting and taste-modifying protein, is a non-functional mannose-binding lectin.

A three-dimensional model of curculin, a sweet-tasting and taste-modifying protein from the fruits of Curculigo latifolia, was built from the X-ray coordinates of GNA, a mannose-binding lectin from snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis). The three mannose-binding sites present in GNA were found in curculin but are devoid of mannose-binding activity as shown by docking experiments performed with mannose. Some regions well exposed on the surface of the three-dimensional model of curculin could act as epitopes responsible for the sweet-tasting properties of this protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Ibotenate lesions of the hippocampus enhance latent inhibition in conditioned taste aversion and increase resistance to extinction in conditioned taste preference.

In 2 experiments, the effects of axon-sparing lesions of the hippocampus on performance in aversive and appetitive taste conditioning tasks were investigated. In Experiment 1, hippocampally lesioned rats showed no impairment of conditioned taste aversion learning relative to control subjects, but they did display an increased sensitivity to latent inhibition (LI). In Experiment 2, the same hippocampectomized rats acquired a conditioned taste preference but failed to show any evidence of extinction. The influence of the neurotoxic lesion on LI is in the opposite direction to the effect typically found following hippocampal damage induced by traditional methods. Accordingly, the data present challenges for most current theories of hippocampal function.

Animals↗