Journal article
Regulation of bitter taste responses by tumor necrosis factor
Brain, behavior, and immunity, v 49, pp 32-42
Oct 2015
PMID: 25911043
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Inflammatory cytokines are important regulators of metabolism and food intake. Over production of inflammatory cytokines during bacterial and viral infections leads to anorexia and reduced food intake. However, it remains unclear whether any inflammatory cytokines are involved in the regulation of taste reception, the sensory mechanism governing food intake. Previously, we showed that tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a potent proinflammatory cytokine, is preferentially expressed in a subset of taste bud cells. The level of TNF in taste cells can be further induced by inflammatory stimuli. To investigate whether TNF plays a role in regulating taste responses, in this study, we performed taste behavioral tests and gustatory nerve recordings in TNF knockout mice. Behavioral tests showed that TNF-deficient mice are significantly less sensitive to the bitter compound quinine than wild-type mice, while their responses to sweet, umami, salty, and sour compounds are comparable to those of wild-type controls. Furthermore, nerve recording experiments showed that the chorda tympani nerve in TNF knockout mice is much less responsive to bitter compounds than that in wild-type mice. Chorda tympani nerve responses to sweet, umami, salty, and sour compounds are similar between TNF knockout and wild-type mice, consistent with the results from behavioral tests. We further showed that taste bud cells express the two known TNF receptors TNFR1 and TNFR2 and, therefore, are potential targets of TNF. Together, our results suggest that TNF signaling preferentially modulates bitter taste responses. This mechanism may contribute to taste dysfunction, particularly taste distortion, associated with infections and some chronic inflammatory diseases.
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Details
- Title
- Regulation of bitter taste responses by tumor necrosis factor
- Creators
- Pu Feng - Monell Chemical Senses CenterMasafumi Jyotaki - Monell Chemical Senses CenterAgnes Kim - Monell Chemical Senses CenterJinghua Chai - Monell Chemical Senses CenterNirvine Simon - Monell Chemical Senses CenterMinliang Zhou - Monell Chemical Senses CenterAlexander A Bachmanov - Monell Chemical Senses CenterLiquan Huang - Monell Chemical Senses CenterHong Wang - Monell Chemical Senses CenterAimee Yuka W Kim - Psychology
- Publication Details
- Brain, behavior, and immunity, v 49, pp 32-42
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Grant note
- P30 DC011735 / NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC010012 / NIDCD NIH HHS P30DC011735 / NIDCD NIH HHS R21DC013177 / NIDCD NIH HHS R21 DC013177 / NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC000882 / NIDCD NIH HHS R01DC010012 / NIDCD NIH HHS R01DC00882 / NIDCD NIH HHS
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000361257900005
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84940595794
- Other Identifier
- 991019173750504721
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Immunology
- Neurosciences
- Psychiatry