Peripheral chemosensing system for tastants and nutrients
- 1 February 2012
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity
- Vol. 19 (1), 19-25
- https://doi.org/10.1097/med.0b013e32834ec7f8
Abstract
The purpose of this review is to discuss the presence and possible roles of peripheral taste/nutrient sensors, particularly taste receptors. Recent studies have demonstrated that taste signaling molecules are distributed not only in the gustatory epithelium, but also in other tissues, including the gastrointestinal tract, airways, testes and brain. Taste signaling mechanisms in the gastrointestinal tract were reported to participate in detecting sweet, umami and bitter compounds. Several research groups have suggested that tastant/nutrient detection by other systems contributes to the behavioral responses to food intake. Taste-like cells expressing taste signaling components are distributed in multiple tissues. Investigation of their potential roles in chemosensing has just begun. Researchers have identified at least two chemosensory pathways in the gastrointestinal tract for detecting tastants/nutrients. One is the taste receptor signaling pathway and the other is the currently unknown nutrient-sensing pathway that elicits postingestive effects. The former system utilizes a mechanism similar to taste sensing in the oral cavity. By understanding how tastants/nutrients are sensed and regulated through both systems, we may be able to more effectively control food intake in the future.Keywords
This publication has 62 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Molecular Receptive Ranges of Human TAS2R Bitter Taste ReceptorsChemical Senses, 2009
- The cells and logic for mammalian sour taste detectionNature, 2006
- Transient receptor potential family members PKD1L3 and PKD2L1 form a candidate sour taste receptorProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006
- Morphologic characterization of rat taste receptor cells that express components of the phospholipase C signaling pathwayJournal of Comparative Neurology, 2003
- A family of candidate taste receptors in human and mouseNature, 2000
- A Novel Family of Mammalian Taste ReceptorsCell, 2000
- Transduction of bitter and sweet taste by gustducinNature, 1996
- Gustducin is a taste-cell-specific G protein closely related to the transducinsNature, 1992
- Ultrastructure of mouse vallate taste buds. I. Taste cells and their associated synapsesJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1985
- Fine structure of the taste budJournal of Ultrastructure Research, 1965