After signing up, you'll start to receive regular news updates from us.
Targeting Bitter Taste Receptors To Treat Cancer

Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.
Humans have 25 different types of functional bitter taste receptors. These are found on our tongue, where they facilitate the taste perception of bitter tasting compounds. In addition, there are increasing findings that cells of extra-oral organs also have such receptors. Since we do not "taste" with these receptors expressed in non-gustatory tissues, the question arises as to what functions they fulfill there. Some of this is already known. For example, certain bitter taste receptors in gastric cells are involved in the regulation of gastric acid secretion or play a role in the release of antimicrobial substances in cells of the intestinal and the respiratory tract.
Bitter receptors are also found on cancer cells
"The new findings suggest that bitter taste receptors have physiological functions that could be used to prevent or treat diseases," reports study author Agnes Mistlberger-Reiner, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Physiological Chemistry at the University of Vienna. This also applies to cancer, she said, since bitter taste receptors are also present and functionally active in cancer cells.Individual taste perception, diet and cancer
"As our data analysis shows, no connection has been proven so far between genetically determined differences in the perception of bitter compounds, the diet and the development of cancer," says Veronika Somoza, who is deputy director of the Department of Physiological Chemistry as well as director of the Leibniz Institute in Freising. Furthermore, the study found that in many cases, bitter taste receptor gene expression is downregulated in cancer cells and tissues, meaning fewer gene products were detectable."Conversely, there is evidence that overexpression of these receptor genes and targeted activation of bitter taste receptors stimulate cellular anti-cancer mechanisms," added first author and PhD student Sofie Zehentner. These include effects such as reduced cell division and migration as well as an increased apoptosis rate, i.e. an increase in programmed cell death of cancer cells.
"There is much to suggest that bitter taste receptors are involved in cellular mechanisms of cancer, making them interesting targets for the development of new therapeutics. Therefore, we intend to further explore the functions of bitter taste receptors in the future," said Veronika Somoza.
Reference: Zehentner S, Reiner AT, Grimm C, Somoza V. The role of bitter taste receptors in cancer: A systematic review. Cancers . 2021;13(23):5891. doi: 10.3390/cancers13235891
This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.