Bitter taste receptor research comes of age: From characterization to modulation of TAS2Rs

The recognition of potentially harmful food components by the gustatory system is important for survival and well-being of vertebrates. The plethora of structurally diverse bitter substances present in nature is recognized by multiple bitter taste receptors belonging to the taste receptor 2 family (TAS2R) of heptahelical receptors resulting in a highly complex mechanism of bitterness perception. In particular, research on human bitter taste receptors allowed the characterization of the receptive range of most of the 25 TAS2Rs, which was a prerequisite for detailed experiments to elucidate the structure-function relationships of TAS2Rs and for the discovery of the first reasonably specific TAS2R antagonists. These new findings will be the focus of the present review. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.