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Updated: Dec 11, 2025

Taste Exam: A Brief and Validated Test
Published on: August 17, 2018
Therapeutic potential and challenges of bitter taste receptors on lung cells
Stanley Conaway1, Ajay P Nayak1, Deepak A Deshpande1
1Center for Translational Medicine, Jane and Leonard Korman Lung Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, United States.
Abstract:
Airway smooth muscle (ASM) hyperresponsiveness and airway remodeling are pathological drivers of disease progression and mortality in asthma. Importantly, approximately 50% of affected individuals are unable to reliably manage disease symptoms using the current standard of care. Recently, T2Rs have been identified as a novel class of G protein-coupled receptors expressed in the airway that on activation can induce ASM relaxation and reduction in airway tone. Further, agonists of T2Rs may also remedy airway remodeling, which has been difficult to manage with currently available medications. In this review, we will discuss the recent developments in T2R biology and their role in cellular physiology (particularly ASM) and expand on the therapeutic potential of T2R agonists in treatment of asthma.
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