Lower expressions of the human bitter taste receptor TAS2R in smokers: reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Despite the fact that smokers have deficit in detecting taste, particularly bitter taste, no study has investigated its biological correlate. METHODS:In 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. RESULTS:TAS2R expression was significantly lower among smokers than non-smokers (t?=?6.525, P?

SUBMITTER: Aoki M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4142065 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature