Mechanosensory substrates of flavor in the mammalian tongue

项目摘要/摘要 风味是一种多感官知觉，涉及味觉、嗅觉、温度感觉和机械感觉。是这样的 风味特征影响人类的食物摄入量和营养摄入量。行为和解剖学研究 为口腔合成在风味感知中的作用提供了强有力的前提，而食物的质地早已 被认为是食物排斥的原因；然而，机械感觉神经元影响的机制 哺乳动物神经系统的味觉并不是很清楚。基本的开放问题包括：什么是 舌头中机械感觉神经元的身份？哺乳动物舌头的离子通道是什么？ 机械感应？这个研究项目的长期目标是阐明机械感觉神经元是如何 影响味觉。 我们先前通过解剖学分析确定了舌头中可能的机械感觉末梢，但 我们的初步功能发现表明，可能有更多类别的机械感觉神经元 支配舌头。本项目中提出的目标将描述解剖、功能和 舌神经机械感受器的分子特性(目标1)及机械转导识别 舌部机械感觉的基础通道(目标2)。我们使用了一种组合的小鼠转基因 技术、组织学、活体钙成像和示踪以实现这些目标。总的来说，这项研究 将对支配舌头的三叉神经机械感觉神经元有一个全面的了解， 开发未来风味感知研究所需的必要分子工具，并为 在风味生物学领域有很强的研究计划。这些目标中概述的工作还将提供必要的 竞争对手R01应用程序的数据，该应用程序旨在解开与风味的机械传感集成 中枢神经系统中的回路。

Project summary/abstract Flavor is a multi-sensory percept involving taste, olfaction, thermosensation and mechanosensation. Such flavor profiles affect food consumption and nutritional intake in humans. Behavioral and anatomical studies provide strong premise for a role for oral somesthesis in flavor perception, and food texture has long been appreciated as a cause of food rejection; however, mechanisms by which mechanosensory neurons influence taste in the mammalian nervous system are poorly defined. Fundamental open questions include: what are the identities of mechanosensory neurons in the tongue? What are the ion channels that underlie mammalian tongue mechanosensation? The long-term goal of this research program is to elucidate how mechanosensory neurons influence flavor perception. We previously identified putative mechanosensory endings in the tongue through anatomical analysis, yet our preliminary functional findings suggest that there are likely more classes of mechanosensory neurons innervating the tongue. The Aims proposed in this project will characterize the anatomical, functional, and molecular properties of tongue innervating mechanoreceptors (Aim 1), and identify mechanotransduction channels that underlie tongue mechanosensation (Aim 2). We use a combination of mouse transgenic technology, histology, in vivo calcium imaging, and tracing to carry out these Aims. Collectively, this research will generate a comprehensive understanding of trigeminal mechanosensory neurons that innervate the tongue, develop essential molecular tools needed for future studies on flavor perception, and provide a foundation for a strong research program in the field of flavor biology. The work outlined in these Aims will also provide necessary data for a competitive R01 application geared towards unraveling mechanosensory integration with flavor circuitry in the central nervous system.