1.
Neuroreport
; 20(10): 936-40, 2009 Jul 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19562832
ABSTRACT
To clarify the components involved in mouse intracellular bitter transduction in the mouse, we investigated the expression patterns of transduction components and the contribution of intracellular Ca2+ stores. Of 64 cells responding to bitter compounds, 63% of the cells expressed the taste tissue-specific G-protein alpha-gustducin. Of the alpha-gustducin immunoreactive cells, 78% expressed IP3R3, a receptor that mediates Ca2+ release from the intracellular store. When intracellular Ca2+ was depleted by treatment with the inhibitor thapsigargin, 83% of the taste cells lost their response to bitter. These data suggest that bitterness transduction involves the release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores.