| Title | Involvement of the calcium-sensing receptor in human taste perception. | | Author(s) | Ohsu T, Amino Y, Nagasaki H, Yamanaka T, Takeshita S, Hatanaka T, Maruyama Y, Miyamura N, Eto Y | | Institution | Pharmaceutical Research Laboratories, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Japan; | | Source | J Biol Chem 2009 Nov 5. | | Abstract | By means of human sensory analyses, we found that various extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) agonists enhance sweet, salty, and umami tastes, though they have no taste themselves. These characteristics are known as kokumi taste, and often appear in traditional Japanese cuisine. Although glutathione (GSH) is a typical kokumi taste substance (taste enhancer), its mode of action is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate how the kokumi taste is enhanced by the CaSR, a close relative of the class C G-protein-coupled receptors T1R1, T1R2, and T1R3 (sweet and umami receptors). We identified a large number of CaSR agonist gamma-glutamyl peptides, including GSH (gamma-Glu-Cys-Gly) and gamma-Glu-Val-Gly, and showed that these peptides elicit the kokumi taste. Further analyses revealed that some known CaSR agonists such as Ca2+, protamine, polylysine, L-histidine, and cinacalcet (a calcium mimetic drug), also elicit the kokumi taste, and that the CaSR-specific antagonist, NPS-2143, significantly suppresses the kokumi taste. This is the first report indicating a distinct function of the CaSR in human taste perception. | | Language | ENG | | Pub Type(s) | JOURNAL ARTICLE
| | PubMed ID | 19892707 |
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