Our results show that the expression rate of some of the T2R taste receptor genes was increased significantly in patients with phantogeusia. These results suggest that increased expression of taste receptor genes is involved in the pathogenesis of phantogeusia; this finding may contribute to elucidation of the mechanism of this disorder.
Our results suggest that decreased expression of taste-associated genes may be involved in hypogeusia in humans. In addition, the evaluation of taste receptor gene expression may be useful clinically for an objective diagnosis of hypogeusia or to evaluate the severity of the disorder.
BackgroundDespite the fact that smokers have deficit in detecting taste, particularly bitter taste, no study has investigated its biological correlate.MethodsIn this context, we compared the expression of the bitter taste receptor gene, taste 2 receptor (TAS2R) in the tongues of smokers and non-smokers. Tissue samples were collected from the lateral portion of the tongues of 22 smokers and 22 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers (19 males and three females) with no history of smoking. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to examine the expression of TAS2R in the two groups, and the effect of aging on TAS2R expression was also assessed.ResultsTAS2R expression was significantly lower among smokers than non-smokers (t = 6.525, P < .0001, 11.36 ± 6.0 vs. 2.09 ± 2.8, mean ± SD, non-smokers vs. smokers). Further, a positive correlation between age and expression of TAS2R was observed in non-smokers (r = .642, P = .001), but not smokers (r = .124, P = .584). This correlation difference was significant (Z = 1.96, P = .0496).ConclusionsSmokers showed a significantly lower expression of the bitter taste receptor gene than non-smokers, which is potentially caused by their inability to acquire such receptors with age because of cigarette smoking, in contrast to non-smokers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.