title: Sour taste responses in mice lacking PKD channels.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The polycystic kidney disease-like ion channel PKD2L1 and its associated partner PKD1L3 are potential candidates for sour taste receptors. PKD2L1 is expressed in type III taste cells that respond to sour stimuli and genetic elimination of cells expressing PKD2L1 substantially reduces chorda tympani nerve responses to sour taste stimuli. However, the contribution of PKD2L1 and PKD1L3 to sour taste responses remains unclear.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We made mice lacking PKD2L1 and/or PKD1L3 gene and investigated whole nerve responses to taste stimuli in the chorda tympani or the glossopharyngeal nerve and taste responses in type III taste cells. In mice lacking PKD2L1 gene, chorda tympani nerve responses to sour, but not sweet, salty, bitter, and umami tastants were reduced by 25-45% compared with those in wild type mice. In contrast, chorda tympani nerve responses in PKD1L3 knock-out mice and glossopharyngeal nerve responses in single- and double-knock-out mice were similar to those in wild type mice. Sour taste responses of type III fungiform taste cells (GAD67-expressing taste cells) were also reduced by 25-45% by elimination of PKD2L1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that PKD2L1 partly contributes to sour taste responses in mice and that receptors other than PKDs would be involved in sour detection.
authors.affiliation: Section of Oral Neuroscience, Graduate School of Dental Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Nao
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Horio
authors.forename: Ryusuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasumatsu
authors.forename: Yuchio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yanagawa
authors.forename: Yoshiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishimaru
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsunami
authors.forename: Yuzo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ninomiya
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017931:DNA Primers; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013649:Taste
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D017931:DNA Primers; C486487:Pkd2l1 protein, mouse; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface