Clinical Role of Extraoral Bitter Taste Receptors

Humans can recognise five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Sour and salty substances are linked to ion channels, while sweet, bitter and umami flavours are transmitted through receptors linked to the G protein (G protein-coupled receptors; GPCRs). There are two main types of GPCRs that transmit information about sweet, umami and bitter tastes—the Tas1r and TAS2R families. There are about 25 functional TAS2R genes coding bitter taste receptor proteins. They are found not only in the mouth and throat, but also in the intestines, brain, bladder and lower and upper respiratory tract. The determination of their purpose in these locations has become an inspiration for much research. Their presence has also been confirmed in breast cancer cells, ovarian cancer cells and neuroblastoma, revealing a promising new oncological marker. Polymorphisms of TAS2R38 have been proven to have an influence on the course of chronic rhinosinusitis and upper airway defensive mechanisms. TAS2R receptors mediate the bronchodilatory effect in human airway smooth muscle, which may lead to the creation of another medicine group used in asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The discovery that functionally compromised TAS2R receptors negatively impact glucose homeostasis has produced a new area of diabetes research. In this article, we would like to focus on what facts have been already established in the matter of extraoral TAS2R receptors in humans.