Changing Taste by Targeting the Ion Channel TRPM5

摘要

The taste system has evolved to make nutritious foods attractive and toxic substances aversive so as to achievea maximal health benefit for the organism. However, evolution has not kept up with changes in human diet and lifestyle,including the development of life-saving, but bitter tasting pharmaceuticals, and the over abundance of high calorie, sweettasting, food. The recent identification of molecular components of the taste system promises to pave the way for therational design of flavor modifiers that enhance sweetness without caloric consequences or reduce the bitterness ofprescription drugs, thereby improving human health. One such molecule is the ion channel TRPM5, which is expressed intaste receptor and other chemosensory cells and is required for bitter and sweet taste sensations. Knowledge of thestructure, function and tissue localization of TRPM5 provides a basis for developing pharmacological screens for smallmolecule taste modifiers.