Stimulation of the extracellular Ca2+-sensing receptor by denatonium

Sweet Taste Is Complex: Signaling Cascades and Circuits Involved in Sweet Sensation

Sweetness is the preferred taste of humans and many animals, likely because sugars are a primary source of energy. In many mammals, sweet compounds are sensed in the tongue by the gustatory organ, the taste buds. Here, a group of taste bud cells expresses a canonical sweet taste receptor, whose activation induces Ca²⁺ rise, cell depolarization and ATP release to communicate with afferent gustatory nerves. The discovery of the sweet taste receptor, 20 years ago, was a milestone in the understanding of sweet signal transduction and is described here from a historical perspective. Our review briefly summarizes the major findings of the canonical sweet taste pathway, and then focuses on molecular details, about the related downstream signaling, that are still elusive or have been neglected. In this context, we discuss evidence supporting the existence of an alternative pathway, independent of the sweet taste receptor, to sense sugars and its proposed role in glucose homeostasis. Further, given that sweet taste receptor expression has been reported in many other organs, the physiological role of these extraoral receptors is addressed. Finally, and along these lines, we expand on the multiple direct and indirect effects of sugars on the brain. In summary, the review tries to stimulate a comprehensive understanding of how sweet compounds signal to the brain upon taste bud cells activation, and how this gustatory process is integrated with gastro-intestinal sugar sensing to create a hedonic and metabolic representation of sugars, which finally drives our behavior. Understanding of this is indeed a crucial step in developing new strategies to prevent obesity and associated diseases.

Kokumi taste perception is functional in a model carnivore, the domestic cat (Felis catus)

Kokumi taste is a well-accepted and characterised taste modality and is described as a sensation of enhancement of sweet, salty, and umami tastes. The Calcium Sensing Receptor (CaSR) has been designated as the putative kokumi taste receptor for humans, and a number of kokumi-active ligands of CaSR have been discovered recently with activity confirmed both in vivo and in vitro. Domestic cats (Felis catus) are obligate carnivores and accordingly, their diet is abundant in proteins, peptides, and amino acids. We hypothesised that CaSR is a key taste receptor for carnivores, due to its role in the detection of different peptides and amino acids in other species. Using in silico, in vitro and in vivo approaches, here we compare human CaSR to that of a model carnivore, the domestic cat. We found broad similarities in ligand specificity, but differences in taste sensitivity between the two species. Indeed our in vivo data shows that cats are sensitive to CaCl₂ as a kokumi compound, but don't show this same activity with Glutathione, whereas for humans the reverse is true. Collectively, our data suggest that kokumi is an important taste modality for carnivores that drives the palatability of meat-derived compounds such as amino acids and peptides, and that there are differences in the perception of kokumi taste between carnivores and omnivores.

Intragastric infusion of denatonium benzoate attenuates interdigestive gastric motility and hunger scores in healthy female volunteers

Background: Denatonium benzoate (DB) has been shown to influence ongoing ingestive behavior and gut peptide secretion.Objective: We studied how the intragastric administration of DB affects interdigestive motility, motilin and ghrelin plasma concentrations, hunger and satiety ratings, and food intake in healthy volunteers.Design: Lingual bitter taste sensitivity was tested with the use of 6 concentrations of DB in 65 subjects. A placebo or 1 μmol DB/kg was given intragastrically to assess its effect on fasting gastrointestinal motility and hunger ratings, motilin and ghrelin plasma concentrations, satiety, and caloric intake.Results: Women (n = 39) were more sensitive toward a lingual bitter stimulus (P = 0.005) than men (n = 26). In women (n = 10), intragastric DB switched the origin of phase III contractions from the stomach to the duodenum (P = 0.001) and decreased hunger ratings (P = 0.04). These effects were not observed in men (n = 10). In women (n = 12), motilin (P = 0.04) plasma concentrations decreased after intragastric DB administration, whereas total and octanoylated ghrelin were not affected. The intragastric administration of DB decreased hunger (P = 0.008) and increased satiety ratings (P = 0.01) after a meal (500 kcal) in 13 women without affecting gastric emptying in 6 women. Caloric intake tended to decrease after DB administration compared with the placebo (mean ± SEM: 720 ± 58 compared with 796 ± 45 kcal; P = 0.08) in 20 women.Conclusions: Intragastric DB administration decreases both antral motility and hunger ratings during the fasting state, possibly because of a decrease in motilin release. Moreover, DB decreases hunger and increases satiety ratings after a meal and shows potential for decreasing caloric intake. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02759926.

Positive Allosteric Modulation of the Calcium-sensing Receptor by Physiological Concentrations of Glucose

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is activated by various cations, cationic compounds, and amino acids. In the present study we investigated the effect of glucose on CaSR in HEK293 cells stably expressing human CaSR (HEK-CaSR cells). When glucose concentration in the buffer was raised from 3 to 25 mm, a rapid elevation of cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_c) was observed. This elevation was immediate and transient and was followed by a sustained decrease in [Ca²⁺]_c The effect of glucose was detected at a concentration of 4 mm and reached its maximum at 5 mm 3-O-Methylglucose, a non-metabolizable analogue of glucose, reproduced the effect of glucose. Sucrose also induced an elevation of [Ca²⁺]_c in HEK-CaSR cells. Similarly, sucralose was nearly as effective as glucose in inducing elevation of [Ca²⁺]_c Glucose was not able to increase [Ca²⁺]_c in the absence of extracellular Ca²⁺ The effect of glucose on [Ca²⁺]_c was inhibited by NPS-2143, an allosteric inhibitor of CaSR. In addition, NPS-2143 also inhibited the [Ca²⁺]_c responses to sucralose and sucrose. Glucose as well as sucralose decreased cytoplasmic cAMP concentration in HEK-CaSR cells. The reduction of cAMP induced by glucose was blocked by pertussis toxin. Likewise, sucralose reduced [cAMP]_c Finally, glucose increased [Ca²⁺]_c in PT-r parathyroid cells and in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, both of which express endogenous CaSR. These results indicate that glucose acts as a positive allosteric modulator of CaSR.

Emerging roles of the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor in nutrient sensing: control of taste modulation and intestinal hormone secretion

The extracellular Ca-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a sensor for a number of key nutrients within the body, including Ca ions (Ca²⁺) and L-amino acids. The CaSR is expressed in a number of specialised cells within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and much work has been done to examine CaSR's role as a nutrient sensor in this system. This review article examines two emerging roles for the CaSR within the GI tract--as a mediator of kokumi taste modulation in taste cells and as a regulator of dietary hormone release in response to L-amino acids in the intestine.

A novel human receptor involved in bitter tastant detection identified using Dictyostelium discoideum

Detection of substances tasting bitter to humans occurs in diverse organisms including the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. To establish a molecular mechanism for bitter tastant detection in Dictyostelium, we screened a mutant library for resistance to a commonly used bitter standard, phenylthiourea. This approach identified a G-protein-coupled receptor mutant, grlJ(-), which showed a significantly increased tolerance to phenylthiourea in growth, survival and movement. This mutant was not resistant to a structurally dissimilar potent bitter tastant, denatonium benzoate, suggesting it is not a target for at least one other bitter tastant. Analysis of the cell-signalling pathway involved in the detection of phenylthiourea showed dependence upon heterotrimeric G protein and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity, suggesting that this signalling pathway is responsible for the cellular effects of phenylthiourea. This is further supported by a phenylthiourea-dependent block in the transient cAMP-induced production of phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PIP3) in wild-type but not grlJ(-) cells. Finally, we have identified an uncharacterized human protein γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type B receptor subunit 1 isoform with weak homology to GrlJ that restored grlJ(-) sensitivity to phenylthiourea in cell movement and PIP3 regulation. Our results thus identify a novel pathway for the detection of the standard bitter tastant phenylthiourea in Dictyostelium and implicate a poorly characterized human protein in phenylthiourea-dependent cell responses.

Influence of cross-fostering on preference for calcium chloride in C57BL/6J and PWK/PhJ mice

We investigated whether maternal influences during the suckling period alter the avidity for calcium, using as models mice from the calcium-preferring PWK/PhJ strain and the calcium-avoiding C57BL/6J strain. We found that milk collected from PWK/PhJ dams had higher calcium concentrations than did milk collected from C57BL/6J dams. Despite this, cross-strain fostering had no effect on adult calcium preferences relative to mice of the same strain that were within-strain fostered or not fostered. Our results indicate that calcium avoidance by C57BL/6J mice and acceptance by PWK/PhJ mice are unaffected by maternal environment during the suckling period.