Journal
CURRENT ALLERGY AND ASTHMA REPORTS
Volume 15, Issue 12, Pages -Publisher
CURRENT MEDICINE GROUP
DOI: 10.1007/s11882-015-0571-8
Keywords
T2R38; Bitter taste receptor; Sweet taste receptor; Solitary chemosensory cell; Airway immune function; Upper airway immunity
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Funding
- NIDCD NIH HHS [R01 DC013588] Funding Source: Medline
- NIH HHS [S10 OD018125] Funding Source: Medline
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Over the past several years, taste receptors have emerged as key players in the regulation of innate immune defenses in the mammalian respiratory tract. Several cell types in the airway, including ciliated epithelial cells, solitary chemosensory cells, and bronchial smooth muscle cells, all display chemoresponsive properties that utilize taste receptors. A variety of bitter products secreted by microbes are detected with resultant downstream inflammation, increased mucous clearance, antimicrobial peptide secretion, and direct bacterial killing. Genetic variation of bitter taste receptors also appears to play a role in the susceptibility to infection in respiratory disease states, including that of chronic rhinosinusitis. Ongoing taste receptor research may yield new therapeutics that harness innate immune defenses in the respiratory tract and may offer alternatives to antibiotic treatment. The present review discusses taste receptor-protective responses and analyzes the role these receptors play in mediating airway immune function.
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