Hirai Ryoji, Takao Kyoichi, Onoda Keiko, Kokubun Shinichiro, Ikeda Minoru
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2012 Feb;121(2):113-8. doi: 10.1177/000348941212100208.
The taste receptor gene family T2R has been implicated in the sensation of bitter taste. Phantogeusia is a spontaneous abnormal taste with no external stimulus. We analyzed the expression of T2R taste receptor genes in the tongues of patients with phantogeusia to assess their role in the pathogenesis of phantogeusia.
We obtained specimens from 43 patients with phantogeusia and 24 normal volunteers by scraping the foliate papillae and examined these specimens for the expression of 10 T2R taste receptor genes using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and electrophoresis.
The expression rate (subjects with detectable expression) of the 10 taste receptor genes in the healthy subjects ranged from 16.7% to 100%; 3 receptor genes were found in 50% or fewer of these subjects. In the patients with phantogeusia, the expression rate was increased significantly compared to that in the healthy control subjects for 3 of the 10 receptor genes examined.
Our results show that the expression rate of some of the T2R taste receptor genes was increased significantly in patients with phantogeusia. These results suggest that increased expression of taste receptor genes is involved in the pathogenesis of phantogeusia; this finding may contribute to elucidation of the mechanism of this disorder.
味觉受体基因家族T2R与苦味感觉有关。味觉幻觉是一种无外部刺激的自发性异常味觉。我们分析了味觉幻觉患者舌头中T2R味觉受体基因的表达，以评估它们在味觉幻觉发病机制中的作用。
我们通过刮取叶状乳头从43例味觉幻觉患者和24名正常志愿者获取标本，并使用逆转录-聚合酶链反应和电泳检测这些标本中10种T2R味觉受体基因的表达。
健康受试者中10种味觉受体基因的表达率（有可检测到表达的受试者）在16.7%至100%之间；其中3种受体基因在50%或更少的受试者中被发现。在味觉幻觉患者中，所检测的10种受体基因中有3种的表达率与健康对照受试者相比显著增加。
我们的结果表明，味觉幻觉患者中一些T2R味觉受体基因的表达率显著增加。这些结果提示味觉受体基因表达增加参与了味觉幻觉的发病机制；这一发现可能有助于阐明这种疾病的机制。
