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Lrmp/Jaw1 is expressed in sweet, bitter, and umami receptor-expressing cells

Yoichiro Shindo1, Mi-Ryung Kim, Hirohito Miura

  • 1Sensory and Cognitive Food Sciences, National Food Research Institute, 2-1-12 Kannondai, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-8642, Japan.

Chemical Senses
|January 15, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Lymphoid-restricted membrane protein (Lrmp/Jaw1) is newly identified in mouse taste cells. This protein may regulate the inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate-mediated calcium (IP3-Ca2+) signal cascade essential for sweet, bitter, and umami taste.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Biology

Background:

  • The inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate-mediated calcium (IP3-Ca2+) signal cascade is crucial for sweet, bitter, and umami taste perception.
  • Key components of this taste signaling pathway are known, but regulatory factors in taste tissues remain largely unidentified.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify novel genes involved in taste signal transduction.
  • To investigate the role of lymphoid-restricted membrane protein (Lrmp/Jaw1) in taste signaling.

Main Methods:

  • Gene expression analysis in mouse taste tissues (circumvallate, foliate, and fungiform papillae).
  • Heterologous expression system (COS7 cells) to study protein interactions.
  • Co-immunoprecipitation to assess the association between Lrmp/Jaw1 and IP3 receptor 3 (IP3R3).

Main Results:

  • Lrmp/Jaw1 exhibits specific expression in taste receptor-expressing cells for sweet, bitter, and umami tastes.
  • Lrmp/Jaw1 was found to associate with IP3 receptor 3 (IP3R3) through its coiled-coil domain in a heterologous system.

Conclusions:

  • Lrmp/Jaw1 is specifically localized to taste receptor cells involved in basic taste modalities.
  • The interaction between Lrmp/Jaw1 and IP3R3 suggests a regulatory role for Lrmp/Jaw1 in the IP3-Ca2+ signaling pathway.
  • Lrmp/Jaw1 is a potential key regulator in sweet, bitter, and umami taste transduction.

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