L-amino acid taste activation in mice.

L-氨基酸激活小鼠味觉。

• 批准号: 0951016
• 负责人: Eugene Delay
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Vermont & State Agricultural College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-05-01 至 2015-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0951016&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: amino; acid; taste; activation; mice.

Activation of basic tastes (sweet, sour, salt, bitter and umami) help identify specific foods and signal dietary content. In spite of their importance to biological functions, little is known about how the taste system detects L-amino acids. It is generally assumed that L-amino acids use the same taste receptor and cellular signal pathway that signals the taste of L-monosodium glutamate, but pilot data suggest that this is too simple. The hypothesis is that multiple taste receptors and two transduction pathways detect and signal L-amino acid tastes. This research will test this hypothesis by comparing taste-related responses to three L-amino acids (L-glutamate, L-serine, L-arginine): 1) of isolated taste sensory cells using calcium imaging methods, 2) of normal mice and mice missing the primary glutamate taste receptor using behavioral methods, and 3) of neurons in the brain stem activated by taste signals from the tongue using antibody markers. Pilot data suggest that at least two (maybe 3) taste receptors detect L-amino acids and the very interesting possibility that cross-talk between two transduction pathways within taste sensory cells modulate L-amino acid tastes. The data also suggest that signals for L-amino acids travel in separate but overlapping neuronal pathways within the brain stem. The results of this research will enable the chemosensory sciences to more directly link the taste qualities of L-amino acids with the biological mechanisms underlying L-amino acid tastes. In turn, this will help health care professionals improve the palatability of foods containing these amino acids, thereby improving dietary intake. Besides the scientific benefits, this project has significant additional broader impacts and will support several undergraduates and two graduate students with opportunities to gain hands-on experience with these research methods and experience the joys of scientific inquiry.

基本味觉（甜、酸、盐、苦和鲜味）的激活有助于识别特定的食物和饮食内容。 尽管它们对生物功能很重要，但人们对味觉系统如何检测L-氨基酸知之甚少。一般认为，L-氨基酸使用相同的味觉受体和细胞信号通路，发出L-谷氨酸的味道信号，但试点数据表明，这太简单了。该假说是多个味觉受体和两个转导途径检测和信号L-氨基酸的味道。 本研究将通过比较对三种L-氨基酸（L-谷氨酸，L-丝氨酸，L-精氨酸）的味觉相关反应来验证这一假设：1）使用钙成像方法分离的味觉感觉细胞，2）使用行为方法的正常小鼠和缺失主要谷氨酸味觉受体的小鼠，以及3）使用抗体标记物的脑干中的神经元被来自舌头的味觉信号激活。 初步数据表明，至少有两种（也许是3种）味觉受体检测L-氨基酸，并且味觉细胞内两种转导途径之间的串扰调节L-氨基酸味道的非常有趣的可能性。 这些数据还表明，L-氨基酸的信号在脑干内以独立但重叠的神经元通路传播。 这项研究的结果将使化学传感科学更直接地将L-氨基酸的味道质量与L-氨基酸味道的生物学机制联系起来。 反过来，这将有助于医疗保健专业人员改善含有这些氨基酸的食物的适口性，从而改善膳食摄入量。 除了科学上的好处，该项目具有显着的额外的更广泛的影响，并将支持几个本科生和两个研究生有机会获得这些研究方法的实践经验，并体验科学探究的乐趣。