European Laboratory for Food Induced Diseases, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2011 Dec;53(6):601-5. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0b013e3182309641.
The physiology of human taste experienced an unprecedented expansion of knowledge brought forward by modern genetics and molecular biology. In the last 10 years, the cellular organization of taste receptors from taste buds distributed in the various papillae of the tongue and the soft palate was enlightened. This molecular revolution rapidly expanded over and above the tongue because several papers reporting the presence of taste receptors in nongustatory tissues (eg, gut, brain) appeared. Hence, the issue of perception of food molecules is no longer confined to the field of nutrition and food preferences, but is rapidly expanding to gastrointestinal (GI) function and, possibly, to gut dysfunction. In children, functional GI diseases are strictly correlated to food preference and food aversion and up to now, the tools to address these kinds of problems were basic nutritional requirements, familial good sense, and a lot of patience: blunt tools to face extremely common and disturbing complaints. The fact that taste receptors are expressed down the whole of the intestinal tract is of particular interest because of their possible role in digestive behavior and absorption of nutrients; therefore, recent and future discoveries in this field will make possible the fine-tuning of new, sharper tools to treat children with functional GI diseases.
人类味觉生理学经历了现代遗传学和分子生物学带来的前所未有的知识扩展。在过去的 10 年中，舌头上各种乳突和软腭中的味觉感受器的细胞组织得到了启示。由于有几篇报道称味觉感受器存在于非味觉组织（例如肠道、大脑）中的论文出现，这种分子革命迅速超出了舌头的范围。因此，对食物分子的感知问题不再局限于营养和食物偏好领域，而是迅速扩展到胃肠道（GI）功能，并且可能扩展到肠道功能障碍。在儿童中，功能性胃肠道疾病与食物偏好和食物厌恶密切相关，到目前为止，解决这些问题的工具是基本的营养需求、家庭常识和大量的耐心：面对极其常见和令人困扰的投诉的简单工具。味觉感受器在整个肠道中表达这一事实特别有趣，因为它们可能在消化行为和营养吸收中发挥作用；因此，该领域的最新和未来发现将使我们有可能调整新的、更精确的工具来治疗患有功能性胃肠道疾病的儿童。
