Intracellular Calcium Increase in Gerbil Taste Cell by Amino Acid Sweeteners
Open Access
- 1 February 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Chemical Senses
- Vol. 22 (1) , 83-91
- https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/22.1.83
Abstract
Gustatory transduction mechanisms for sucrose and amino acid sweeteners in gerbil taste cells were studied with Ca2+ imaging and whole cell recording techniques. A 100 mM sucrose stimulus with Ca2+ increased the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in sweet-sensitive taste cells of the taste bud, but the sucrose stimulus without Ca2+ did not change the [Ca2+]i. A 10 mM D-phenylalanine sweet stimulus with or without Ca2+ similarly increased the [Ca2+]i in the taste bud. The addition of 5 μM ionomysin, a Ca2+-ionophore, without Ca2+ greatly increased the [Ca2+]i in the taste bud. The application of 10 mM D-phenylalanine stimulus without Ca2+ enhanced the outward K+ current in isolated taste cells. These results suggest that a sugar sweetener such as sucrose induces a depolarization in gerbil taste cells which activates voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels and that a non-sugar sweetener such as D-phenylalanine releases Ca2+ from the internal stores without a depolarization. Chem. Senses 22: 83–91, 1997.Keywords
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