title: Effect of gap junction blocker beta-glycyrrhetinic acid on taste disk cells in frog.
abstract: A gap junction blocker, 18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid (beta-GA), increased the membrane resistance of Ia, Ib and II/III cells of frog taste disk by 50, 160, and 300 M Omega, respectively, by blocking the gap junction channels and hemichannels. The amplitudes of gustatory depolarizing potentials in the disk cells for 4 basic taste stimuli were reduced to 40-60% after intravenous injection of beta-GA at 1.0 mg/kg. beta-GA of 1.0 mg/kg did not affect the resting potentials and the reversal potentials for tastant-induced depolarizing potentials in any taste disk cells. The percentage of cells responding to each of 4 basic taste stimuli and varying numbers of 4 taste qualities did not differ between control and beta-GA-treated taste disk cells. This implies that gustatory depolarizing response profiles for 4 basic taste stimuli were very similar in control and beta-GA-treated taste disk cells. It is concluded that beta-GA at 1.0 mg/kg reduced the amplitude of gustatory depolarizing potentials in taste disk cells by strongly blocking depolarizing currents flowing through the gap junction channels and hemichannels, but probably weakly affected the gustatory transduction mechanisms for 4 taste stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Division of Integrative Sensory Physiology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan. toshi@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toshihide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishishita
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D017097:Electric Impedance; D004594:Electrophysiology; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000187:drug effects*; D006034:Glycyrrhetinic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011892:Rana catesbeiana / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013650:Taste Buds / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C119129:18alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid; D006034:Glycyrrhetinic Acid