Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Ana R. Costa, Ana C. Duarte, Ana R. Costa-Brito, Isabel Goncalves, Cecilia R. A. Santos
Summary: Pharmacoresistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs is a major challenge. ABC transporters are a leading cause of drug resistance as they transport drugs out of the cells. TAS2Rs, regulated by bitter taste receptors, have been found in various cancer types and organs, and their activation has been linked to multiple biological actions. Bitter compounds, such as flavonoids and alkaloids, have shown potential as adjuvants in cancer therapy. This review discusses the therapeutic role of TAS2Rs and bitter compounds in overcoming chemoresistance in different types of cancer.
Review
Food Science & Technology
Lijun Li, Xing Yan, Fengying Chen, Liyan Zheng, Yang Hu, Fan He, Hui Ni, Feng Chen, Qingbiao Li
Summary: Citrus is a significant source of flavonoids in our diet, which possess antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and cardiovascular disease preventive properties. This paper briefly reviews the biosynthesis pathway, absorption and metabolism of citrus flavonoids, and investigates the relationship between flavonoid structure and bitter taste intensity. Furthermore, it discusses the pharmacological effects of bitter flavonoids and the activation of bitter taste receptors in combating various diseases. This review provides an important foundation for the targeted design of citrus flavonoid structures to enhance their biological activity and make them attractive as potent drugs for treating chronic diseases such as obesity, asthma, and neurological disorders.
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY
(2023)
Article
Otorhinolaryngology
Adam C. Kaufman, Lauren Colquitt, Michael J. Ruckenstein, Douglas C. Bigelow, Steven J. Eliades, Guoxiang Xiong, Cailu Lin, Danielle R. Reed, Noam A. Cohen
Summary: This study evaluated the presence of bitter taste receptors in the middle ear and their association with chronic ear infections. Bitter taste receptors were found in all patients sampled, with the rs1376251 allele of TAS2R50 appearing to be related to chronic ear infections. These receptors present an intriguing target for future research and possible drug development.
OTOLARYNGOLOGY-HEAD AND NECK SURGERY
(2021)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Gabriella Morini, Marcel Winnig, Timo Vennegeerts, Gigliola Borgonovo, Angela Bassoli
Summary: Vanillin, the major compound in vanilla, activates three human bitter taste receptors TAS2R14, TAS2R20, and TAS2R39, leading to the bitterness sensation associated with vanilla. This discovery may lead to improving the sensory profile of vanilla in food preparation and open up possibilities for its use in sensory nutrition and pharmaceutical applications.
FRONTIERS IN NUTRITION
(2021)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Alexandria Turner, Martin Veysey, Simon Keely, Christopher J. Scarlett, Mark Lucock, Emma L. Beckett
Summary: Genetic polymorphisms in taste receptors TAS2R4 and TAS2R5 are associated with lower BMI in males, suggesting a potential role for taste receptors in obesity risk. However, this association seems to be through altered extra-oral responses rather than directly affecting epicatechin intake.
Review
Oncology
Sofie Zehentner, Agnes T. Reiner, Christoph Grimm, Veronika Somoza
Summary: Bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) are functionally expressed in various extra-oral cells and their role in cancer is not yet clear, but studies suggest downregulated gene expression in cancerous cells and potential anti-cancer effects through their activation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wei-Wen Sung, Jing-Hong Tu, Jyun-Sian Yu, Marisa Zakiya Ulfa, Jia-Hong Chang, Hsueh-Ling Cheng
Summary: The study showed that activation of T2Rs mediates EPS-induced GLP-1 secretion from enteroendocrine cells, with T2R14 being a critical target.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2021)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Andrea Pieroni, Gabriella Morini, Maria Piochi, Naji Sulaiman, Raivo Kalle, Shiekh Marifatul Haq, Andrea Devecchi, Cinzia Franceschini, Dauro M. Zocchi, Riccardo Migliavada, Julia Prakofjewa, Matteo Sartori, Nikos Krigas, Mushtaq Ahmad, Luisa Torri, Renata Soukand
Summary: This study documents the ethnobotanical knowledge of wild greens in Ikaria Isle, Greece, through interviews and provides insight into their culinary uses and tastes. The findings show a similarity between the wild greens in Ikaria and those in other areas of the central-eastern Mediterranean, particularly in terms of bitter-tasting botanical genera. The study emphasizes the importance of preserving and documenting the bio-cultural gastronomic heritage of Chorta as part of the Mediterranean diet, and recommends further attention from nutritionists, food scientists, historians, policymakers, and practitioners.
Article
Otorhinolaryngology
Cailu Lin, Alyssa M. Civantos, Monique Arnold, Elizabeth M. Stevens, Beverly J. Cowart, Lauren R. Colquitt, Corrine Mansfield, David W. Kennedy, Steven G. Brooks, Alan D. Workman, Mariel T. Blasetti, Michael A. Kohanski, Laurel Doghramji, Jennifer E. Douglas, Ivy W. Maina, James N. Palmer, Nithin D. Adappa, Danielle R. Reed, Noam A. Cohen
Summary: This study investigated the sensitivity of other bitter taste receptors in CRS patients and found that patients rated bitter compounds as less intense, but sweet compounds as more intense compared to controls. The study suggests that taste responses may reflect the competence of sinonasal innate immunity mediated by taste receptor function, indicating that taste testing may have potential clinical utility in CRS patients.
INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF ALLERGY & RHINOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Sebastian Bayer, Ariane Isabell Mayer, Gigliola Borgonovo, Gabriella Morini, Antonella Di Pizio, Angela Bassoli
Summary: Bitter food compounds play a role in human health by influencing food choices and preferences, as well as potentially impacting the body through modulation of bitter taste receptors. Investigating the interaction of these compounds with taste receptors is crucial for understanding their effects on health and developing new additives or drugs. Analysis of the patterns of bitter tastants and taste receptors provides insight into the associations between food compounds and health effects.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Johanna Tiroch, Andreas Dunkel, Sonja Sterneder, Sofie Zehentner, Maik Behrens, Antonella Di Pizio, Jakob P. Ley, Barbara Lieder, Veronika Somoza
Summary: Human gingival fibroblast cells (HGF-1 cells) are an important cell model for studying the response of gingiva to inflammatory stimuli. Recently, it was found that trans-resveratrol can repress the release of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, in HGF-1 cells stimulated by Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg-LPS), through the involvement of TAS2R50 bitter taste sensing receptor. This study aims to investigate the association between a compound's bitter taste threshold and its repressing effect on Pg-LPS evoked IL-6 release by HGF-1 cells.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
B. Kalyanasundar, Ginger D. Blonde, Alan C. Spector, Susan P. Travers
Summary: Recent findings show that the rostral nucleus of the solitary tract (rNST) and the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) in mice retain responsiveness to sugars even in the absence of specific taste receptor heterodimers. In PBN, the responses to concentrated glucose were more evident, and a CA-dependent mechanism in Type III taste bud cells may be involved in T1R-independent hyperosmotic sugar detection.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Phil Richter, Karin Sebald, Konrad Fischer, Maik Behrens, Angelika Schnieke, Veronika Somoza
Summary: This study aimed to investigate whether non-bitter casein is degraded into bitter peptides that stimulate gastric acid secretion. An in vitro model of gastric digestion and casein-fed pig experiments confirmed this process, while sensory analyses and in vitro screening validated the bitterness of the peptides. Functional involvement of TAS2R16 and TAS2R38 gene expression with the peptides was confirmed in HGT-1 cells. These findings are important for understanding protein digestion and its application in dietary context.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Ryan M. Carey, Nithin D. Adappa, James N. Palmer, Robert J. Lee
Summary: This study shows that neuropeptide Y (NPY) reduces ciliary beat frequency by activating NPY2R and attenuates the response to T2R14 agonist apigenin. However, NPY does not affect T2R-induced calcium elevation but does reduce T2R-stimulated nitric oxide production through a PKC-dependent process.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Ana Catarina Duarte, Ana Raquel Costa, Isabel Goncalves, Telma Quintela, Robert Preissner, Cecilia R. A. Santos
Summary: The delivery of therapeutic drugs to the brain is challenging due to the brain barriers that protect the brain from toxicants. Bitter taste receptors (TAS2R) found in the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier hold promise as drug targets, but their biological effects are still debated.
BIOCHEMICAL PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Reed M. O'Connor, Elizabeth F. Stone, Charlotte R. Wayne, Emily V. Marcinkevicius, Matt Ulgherait, Rebecca Delventhal, Meghan M. Pantalia, Vanessa M. Hill, Clarice G. Zhou, Sophie McAllister, Anna Chen, Jennifer S. Ziegenfuss, Wesley B. Grueber, Julie C. Canman, Mimi M. Shirasu-Hiza
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rebecca Delventhal, Aidan Kiely, John R. Carlson
Jove-Journal of Visualized Experiments
(2014)
Article
Biology
Rebecca Delventhal, Reed M. O'Connor, Meghan M. Pantalia, Matthew Ulgherait, Han X. Kim, Maylis K. Basturk, Julie C. Canman, Mimi Shirasu-Hiza
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matt Ulgherait, Anna Chen, Sophie F. McAllister, Han X. Kim, Rebecca Delyenthal, Charlotte R. Wayne, Christian J. Garcia, Yocelyn Recinos, Miles Oliva, Julie C. Canman, Martin Picard, Edward Owusu-Ansah, Mimi Shirasu-Hiza
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)