title: Antagonism of the gerbil's sweetener and Polycose gustatory responses by copper chloride.
abstract: Antagonism of the gerbil's whole chorda tympani nerve taste responses by CuCl2 was studied. A 30 min pretreatment of 0.1 mM CuCl2 suppressed responses to single concentrations of the following sweeteners: L-alanine, L-proline, D-tryptophan, 6-chloro-D-tryptophan, L-valine, glycine, sucrose, maltose, lactose, tetrachloro-galacto-sucrose, glucose, fructose, methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside, glycerol, sorbitol, sodium saccharin, L-4'-cyano-3'-(2-2-2-trifluoro acetamido)succinanilic acid, phenethyurea, and stevioside. The responses to L-serine and the starch hydrolysate, Polycose were depressed to a lesser degree. The responses to glycine HCl and NaCl were slightly suppressed by CuCl2. The 0.1 mM CuCl2 had no effect on the shape of the sucrose concentration-response curve or its 1/2 maximal response (CR50), but did suppress the maximum response (Rmax), characteristic of non-competitive antagonism. Our work suggests the presence of 2 separate receptor sites on the gerbil's taste receptor cell membrane, one of which interacts with sugar sweeteners and most other non-sugar sweeteners and the other with Polycose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Lehman College, Bronx 10468.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Somenarain
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jakinovich
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D000758:Anesthesia; D000818:Animals; D002814:Chorda Tympani Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D003300:Copper / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005849:Gerbillinae; D007700:Kinetics; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D013395:Sucrose / Q000494:pharmacology; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013395:Sucrose; D003300:Copper