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Published on: February 11, 2021
Sweetness-induced activation of membrane dipole potential in STC-1 taste cells
Li-Chun Chen1, Ning-Ning Xie2, Shao-Ping Deng2
1College of Food & Biology Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310035, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Chem & Bio Processing Technology of Agricultural Products, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310023, China.
Abstract:
The biological functions of cell membranes strongly influence the binding and transport of molecular species. We developed STC-1 cell line stably expressing the sweet taste receptor (T1R2/T1R3), and explored the possible correlation between sweeteners and membrane dipole potential of STC-1 cells. In this study, sweetener-induced dipole potential activation was elucidated using a fluorescence-based measurement technique, by monitoring the voltage sensitive probe Di-8-ANEPPS using a dual wavelength ratiometric approach. It indicated that the presence of sweeteners resulted in cell membrane dipole potential change, and interaction of artificial sweeteners with taste cells resulted in a greater reduction in potential compared with natural sweeteners. Our work presents a newly developed approach using a fluorescence-based measurement technique to study sweetener-induced dipole potential activation of STC-1 cells. This new approach could be used as a complementary tool to study the function of sweet taste receptors or other GPCRs and helps to understand the basis sweetness mechanism.
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