Mechanosensory substrates of flavor in the mammalian tongue

项目概要/摘要 风味是一种涉及味觉、嗅觉、热觉和机械觉的多感官感受器。等 风味特征影响人类的食物消耗和营养摄入。行为和解剖学研究 为口腔体觉在风味感知中的作用提供了强有力的前提，而食物质地长期以来一直是 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 哺乳动物神经系统中的味觉很难定义。基本的开放性问题包括： 舌头中机械感觉神经元的身份哺乳动物舌头下面的离子通道是什么 机械感觉？这项研究计划的长期目标是阐明机械感觉神经元如何 影响风味感知。 我们先前通过解剖学分析确定了舌头中假定的机械感觉末梢， 我们的初步功能发现表明，可能有更多种类的机械感觉神经元， 舌头的神经。本项目中提出的目标将描述解剖学、功能和 舌神经机械感受器的分子特性（目的1），并确定机械转导 通道的基础舌头机械感觉（目的2）。我们使用转基因小鼠 技术、组织学、体内钙成像和示踪来实现这些目标。总的来说，这项研究 将产生对支配舌头的三叉神经机械感觉神经元的全面理解， 为未来的风味感知研究开发必要的分子工具，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 用于竞争性R 01应用的数据，该应用旨在揭示机械感觉与风味的整合 中枢神经系统的回路

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.