ArticleNature medicine2010
Bitter taste receptors on airway smooth muscle bronchodilate by localized calcium signaling and reverse obstruction.
Article in Nature medicine, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02859116 (Collection of Gastrointestinal Tissue Samples for the Characterization and ex Vivo Functional Assessment of Chemoreceptors), which is not on this map. Cited by 343 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Collection of Gastrointestinal Tissue Samples for the Characterization and ex Vivo Functional Assessment of Chemoreceptors
Who cites it
343 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 649 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 story: is the low-dose treatment the missing link? A comprehensive review and meta-analysis.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- COVID-19 as a worldwide selective event and bitter taste receptor polymorphisms: An ecological correlational study.International journal of biological macromolecules · 2021Pooled it
- Agonist-specific conformational dynamics at the βBritish journal of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Evaluation of Bronchial Receptors with Concentration-Response Curves, Bitterness Assessment, and Computer Simulations.Cell biochemistry and biophysics · 2026Article
- Evaluation of Bronchial Receptors with Concentration-Response Curves, Bitterness Assessment, and Computer Simulations.Cell biochemistry and biophysics · 2026Article
- Bitter taste TAS2R14 and TAS2R46 receptors bound to G proteins: comparison of cryo-EM, AlphaFold, and molecular dynamics structures.European biophysics journal : EBJ · 2026Article
- Spatiotemporal calcium signaling to unlock the calcium paradox: location, location, location!American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology · 2026Article
- Naringin promotes angiogenesis in bone fracture healing via TAS2R39-CaJournal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Olfactory Receptor Activation Reduces Platelet Reactivity and Arterial Thrombosis Through Actin Cytoskeleton Remodeling.Circulation · 2026Article
- Dynamic Pathway Selectivity of TAS2R5 toward or Away from β-Arrestin or G Protein from Biased Agonists.Biochemistry · 2026Article
- Activation of Extraoral Bitter Taste Receptors by Herbs and Spices in the Regulation of Incretin Signaling and Glucose Metabolism.Nutrition reviews · 2026Review
- Integrated molecular networks reveal latent components distinguishing type 2-high and type 2-low asthma.BMJ open respiratory research · 2026Article
- Article
- The structure and function of taste G protein-coupled receptors and their implications in diseases.International journal of oral science · 2026Review
- Asthma endotypes and theratypes.Chinese medical journal pulmonary and critical care medicine · 2026Review
- A Digestive Herbal Mixture Preparation Stimulates Proton Secretion in Human Parietal Cells through Phenolic Compounds Targeting Bitter Taste Receptors.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Article
- Steroid Hormones Are Potent and Putatively Endogenous Activators of Human Bitter Taste Receptors.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2026Article
- Integrating GPCR Regulation and Calcium Dynamics in Airway Smooth Muscle Function: A Comprehensive Review.Cells · 2026Review
- Endocrine-Taste Crosstalk: A Scoping Review on Thyroid Dysfunction and Its Genetic Links to Taste Receptors With Dysgeusia.International journal of endocrinology · 2026Review
- Quercetin as a Bitter Taste Receptor Agonist with Anticancer Effects in Head and Neck Cancer Cells.Nutrients · 2025Article
283 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) on the tongue probably evolved to evoke signals for avoiding ingestion of plant toxins. We found expression of TAS2Rs on human airway smooth muscle (ASM) and considered these to be avoidance receptors for inhalants that, when activated, lead to ASM contraction and bronchospasm. TAS2R agonists such as saccharin, chloroquine and denatonium evoked increased intracellular calcium ([Ca²(+)](i)) in ASM in a Gβγ-, phospholipase Cβ (PLCβ)- and inositol trisphosphate (IP₃) receptor-dependent manner, which would be expected to evoke contraction. Paradoxically, bitter tastants caused relaxation of isolated ASM and dilation of airways that was threefold greater than that elicited by β-adrenergic receptor agonists. The relaxation induced by TAS2Rs is associated with a localized [Ca²(+)](i) response at the cell membrane, which opens large-conductance Ca²(+)-activated K(+) (BK(Ca)) channels, leading to ASM membrane hyperpolarization. Inhaled bitter tastants decreased airway obstruction in a mouse model of asthma. Given the need for efficacious bronchodilators for treating obstructive lung diseases, this pathway can be exploited for therapy with the thousands of known synthetic and naturally occurring bitter tastants.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.