G alpha14 is a candidate mediator of sweet/umami signal transduction in the posterior region of the mouse tongue.
Gustducin, a G alpha subunit expressed in taste cells, is known as a key molecule for sweet, umami and bitter taste signal transduction. However, previous studies demonstrated that the contribution of gustducin to the sweet/umami responses in the posterior region of the tongue is less than that in the anterior region, implying the existence of another G alpha subunit mediating sweet/umami taste signal transduction. Here, we propose G alpha14, a member of G alpha q family, as the candidate mediator. G alpha14 was found in our subtracted full-length cDNA library derived from mouse circumvallate papillae (CV) and expressed in a subset of taste cells in CV and foliate papillae, but not in fungiform papillae and soft palate. G alpha14 was co-expressed with T1r3, a sweet/umami taste receptor, but not with gustducin in CV. These results suggest the important roles of G alpha14 in sweet/umami taste signal transduction in the posterior region of the tongue.
Shindo
Yoichiro
Y
Research Laboratories for Health & Gustatory Science, Asahi Breweries, Ltd., 1-1-21 Midori, Moriya, Ibaraki 302-0106, Japan.
Miura
Hirohito
H
Carninci
Piero
P
Kawai
Jun
J
Hayashizaki
Yoshihide
Y
Ninomiya
Yuzo
Y
Hino
Akihiro
A
Kanda
Tomomasa
T
Kusakabe
Yuko
Y
D000818:Animals; D043802:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gq-G11 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D015723:Gene Library; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013649:Taste / Q000235:genetics*; D013650:Taste Buds / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*
C532882:Galpha14 protein, mouse; C524407:GNAT3 protein, mouse; D043802:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gq-G11; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins