Background Taste receptor cells are responsible for transducing chemical stimuli into
electrical signals that lead to the sense of taste. An important second messenger in taste …

Rat taste buds contain three morphologically distinct cell types that are candidates for taste
transduction. The physiologic roles of these cells are, however, not clear. Inositol 1, 4, 5 …

The Ca2+ signaling cascade has been reported to be activated by many tastants in
vertebrate taste systems. Recently we have shown that Gi2 and phospholipase Cβ2 …

Background Taste receptor cells are responsible for transducing chemical stimuli from the
environment and relaying information to the nervous system. Bitter, sweet and umami stimuli …

Humans are capable of sensing five basic tastes which are sweet, sour, salt, umami and
bitter. Of these, bitter taste perception provides protection against ingestion of potentially …

In mammals, taste perception is a major mode of sensory input. We have identified a novel
family of 40–80 human and rodent G protein–coupled receptors expressed in subsets of …

G protein βγ (Gβγ) complexes are considered to play an important role in second messenger
signaling of phospholipase C (PLC). Monitoring the inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate (IP3) …

Human bitter taste is mediated by∼ 25 members of the human TAS2 receptor (hTAS2R)
gene family. The hTAS2R genes are expressed in taste buds of gustatory papillae on the …

Bitter taste perception is a conserved chemical sense against the ingestion of poisonous
substances in mammals. A multigene family of G-protein-coupled receptors, T2R (so-called …

Although a role for the gastric and intestinal mucosa in molecular sensing has been known
for decades, the initial molecular recognition events that sense the chemical composition of …