Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
12
pubmed:dateCreated
1996-7-30
pubmed:abstractText
Receptor proteins for photoreception have been studied for several decades. More recently, putative receptors for olfaction have been isolated and characterized. In contrast, no receptors for taste have been identified yet by molecular cloning. This report describes experiments aimed at identifying a receptor responsible for the taste of monosodium glutamate (MSG). Using reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR, we found that several ionotropic glutamate receptors are present in rat lingual tissues. However, these receptors also could be detected in lingual tissue devoid of taste buds. On the other hand, RT-PCR and RNase protection assays indicated that a G-protein-coupled metabotropic glutamate receptor, mGluR4, also is expressed in lingual tissues and is limited only to taste buds. In situ hybridization demonstrated that mGluR4 is detectable in 40-70% of vallate and foliate taste buds but not in surrounding nonsensory epithelium, confirming the localization of this metabotropic receptor to gustatory cells. Expression of mGluR4 in taste buds is higher in preweaning rats compared with adult rats. This may correspond to the known higher sensitivity to the taste of MSG in juvenile rodents. Finally, behavioral studies have indicated that MSG and L-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (L-AP4), a ligand for mGluR4, elicit similar tastes in rats. We conclude that mGluR4 may be a chemosensory receptor responsible, in part, for the taste of MSG.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
0270-6474
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
16
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
3817-26
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Amino Acid Sequence, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Chemoreceptor Cells, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Conditioning (Psychology), pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Data Interpretation, Statistical, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Epithelium, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-In Situ Hybridization, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Membrane Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Molecular Sequence Data, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Polymerase Chain Reaction, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-RNA, Messenger, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Rats, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Rats, Sprague-Dawley, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Receptors, Glutamate, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Sodium Glutamate, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Taste, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Taste Buds, pubmed-meshheading:8656276-Tongue
pubmed:year
1996
pubmed:articleTitle
The taste of monosodium glutamate: membrane receptors in taste buds.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Physiology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins 80523, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't