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Updated: Nov 12, 2025

Taste Exam: A Brief and Validated Test
Published on: August 17, 2018
Bitter Taste Receptors (T2Rs) are Sentinels that Coordinate Metabolic and Immunological Defense Responses
Caroline P Harmon1, Daiyong Deng1, Paul A S Breslin1,2
1Department of Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Abstract:
In addition to being responsible for bitter taste, type 2 taste receptors (T2Rs) regulate endocrine, behavioral, and immunological responses. T2R agonists include indicators of incoming threats to metabolic homeostasis, pathogens, and irritants. This review will provide an overview of T2R-regulated processes throughout the body that function defensively. We propose a broader definition of T2Rs as chemosensory sentinels that monitor toxic, metabolic, and infectious threats and initiate defensive responses.
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