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Taste Exam: A Brief and Validated Test
Published on: August 17, 2018
Bitter Taste Receptor TAS2R43 Co-Regulates Mechanisms of Gastric Acid Secretion and Zinc Homeostasis
H Noreen Orth1,2, Philip Pirkwieser2, Julia Benthin1,2
1Graduate School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany.
Abstract:
The essential micronutrient zinc is known to inhibit gastric acid secretion (GAS), where its homeostasis is strictly regulated. We hypothesized that the gastric bitter taste receptors, TAS2Rs, regulate the following: (i) zinc-modulated proton secretory activity (PSA) as a key mechanism of GAS and (ii) zinc homeostasis in immortalized parietal cells. To confirm this hypothesis, human gastric tumor cells (HGT-1) were exposed to 100-1000 µM of zinc salts for 30 min in order to quantitate their TAS2R-dependent PSA and intracellular zinc concentration using a fluorescence-based pH sensor and ICP-MS, respectively. Thereby, we identified TAS2R43 as a key player in parietal cell PSA and zinc homeostasis, with both conclusions being verified by a CRISPR-Cas9 knockout approach. Moreover, by regulating the zinc importer protein ZIP14, TAS2R43 proved to perform a protective role against excessive zinc accumulation in immortalized parietal cells.
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