Int J Oral Biol.  2018 Sep;43(3):113-121. 10.11620/IJOB.2018.43.3.113.

Bitter Taste, Rising New Functions and Significance of Extra-oral Expressions

• Ki SY
• Kim KN

• KMID: 2437347
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11620/IJOB.2018.43.3.113

Abstract

Taste is closely related to intake of food. Taste perception is also influenced by type of food ingested, and nutrition and health status. Bitter taste plays an important role in the survival of human and animals to avoid probable toxic and harmful substances. Vertebrate animals recognize bitter taste through type 2 taste receptors (T2Rs). Several T2Rs have been expressed extra-oral such as the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, urogenital tract, brain and immune cells, and parts of their functions are being revealed. This review will discuss physiological roles of T2Rs in relation to innate immunity, secretion and smooth muscle contraction expressed in extra-oral cells and tissues, and we summarize relationships between polymorphisms in T2Rs and general or oral diseases. It is not a coincidence that animals pay much genetic costs for taste and smell during evolution.

Keyword

taste; bitter; receptors; oral diseases; chemoreception; polymorphism

MeSH Terms

Animals
Brain
Gastrointestinal Tract
Humans
Immunity, Innate
Muscle, Smooth
Respiratory System
Smell
Taste Perception
Vertebrates