Journal
CHEMICAL SENSES
Volume 35, Issue 2, Pages 157-170Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjp092
Keywords
calcium imaging; gustation; heterologous expression; taste
Funding
- German Science Foundation [Me1024/2-3]
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Humans perceive thousands of compounds as bitter. In sharp contrast, only similar to 25 taste 2 receptors (TAS2R) bitter taste receptors have been identified, raising the question as to how the vast array of bitter compounds can be detected by such a limited number of sensors. To address this issue, we have challenged 25 human taste 2 receptors (hTAS2Rs) with 104 natural or synthetic bitter chemicals in a heterologous expression system. Thirteen cognate bitter compounds for 5 orphan receptors and 64 new compounds for previously identified receptors were discovered. Whereas some receptors recognized only few agonists, others displayed moderate or extreme tuning broadness. Thus, 3 hTAS2Rs together were able to detect similar to 50% of the substances used. Conversely, though 63 bitter substances activated only 1-3 receptors, 19 compounds stimulated up to 15 hTAS2Rs. Our data suggest that the detection of the numerous bitter chemicals is related to the molecular receptive ranges of hTAS2Rs.
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