Mammalian Taste Cells Express Functional Olfactory Receptors.

Mammalian Taste Cells Express Functional Olfactory Receptors. Chem Senses. 2019 May 29;44(5):289-301 Authors: Malik B, Elkaddi N, Turkistani J, Spielman AI, Ozdener MH Abstract The peripheral taste and olfactory systems in mammals are separate and independent sensory systems. In the current model of chemosensation, gustatory, and olfactory receptors are genetically divergent families expressed in anatomically distinct locations that project to disparate downstream targets. Although information from the 2 sensory systems merges to form the perception of flavor, the first cross talk is thought to occur centrally, in the insular cortex. Recent studies have shown that gustatory and olfactory receptors are expressed throughout the body and serve as chemical sensors in multiple tissues. Olfactory receptor cDNA has been detected in the tongue, yet the presence of physiologically functional olfactory receptors in taste cells has not yet been demonstrated. Here we report that olfactory receptors are functionally expressed in taste papillae. We found expression of olfactory receptors in the taste papillae of green fluorescent protein-expressing transgenic mice and, using immunocytochemistry and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction experiments, the presence of olfactory signal transduction molecules and olfactory receptors in cultured human fungiform taste papilla (HBO) cells. Both HBO cells and mouse taste papilla cells responded t...
Source: Chemical Senses - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: research