Brito Nunes Caroline, Lim Amanda Wei-Yin, Dy Quimbe, Ong Jue-Sheng, Hwang Liang-Dar
Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Eur J Nutr. 2025 Jun 11;64(5):218. doi: 10.1007/s00394-025-03718-6.
Bitter taste receptor gene TAS2R38 determines our ability to perceive the bitter substances phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and propylthiouracil (PROP). Despite being extensively investigated, its potential correlations with dietary and health outcomes remain inconclusive. This study aims to validate previous findings observed in small studies and explore novel associations using publicly available summary results statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS).
We examine the associations between three TAS2R38 variants (rs713598, rs1726866, and rs10246939) and 139 food liking traits and 29 food intake traits using GWAS data from the UK Biobank (N up to 445,779 individuals of European ancestry). We further search for their associations with health outcomes in published GWASs using three online platforms OpenGWAS, Open Targets, and GWAS Atlas.
The bitter sensitive alleles were associated with reduced preferences for and/or consumption of horseradish, salty food, grapefruit, and alcohol (but only for whiskey, red wine, and spirits), increased preferences for cucumber and melon, and increased consumption of tea (p < Bonferroni-corrected threshold of 0.00128). We identified novel associations between bitter sensitive alleles and impaired renal function, indicated by increased serum creatinine levels (p = 9.80 × 10), decreased urinary proline betaine levels (p = 3.18 × 10), and an elevated risk of bipolar disorder (p = 4.01 × 10).
This study highlights the potential impact of the TAS2R38 genotype on food preference, consumption, renal function, and bipolar disorder. Further research on genetic links will facilitate the development of targeted interventions and public health strategies to mitigate diet-related health risks.
苦味受体基因TAS2R38决定了我们感知苦味物质苯硫脲（PTC）和丙基硫氧嘧啶（PROP）的能力。尽管已进行了广泛研究，但其与饮食和健康结果之间的潜在关联仍无定论。本研究旨在验证先前在小型研究中观察到的结果，并利用大规模全基因组关联研究（GWAS）的公开汇总结果统计数据探索新的关联。
我们使用英国生物银行的GWAS数据（欧洲血统个体最多445,779人），研究了三种TAS2R38变体（rs713598、rs1726866和rs10246939）与139种食物喜好特征和29种食物摄入特征之间的关联。我们还使用三个在线平台OpenGWAS、Open Targets和GWAS Atlas，在已发表的GWAS中搜索它们与健康结果的关联。
苦味敏感等位基因与对辣根、咸味食物、葡萄柚和酒精（但仅针对威士忌、红酒和烈酒）的偏好降低和/或摄入量减少、对黄瓜和甜瓜的偏好增加以及茶的摄入量增加有关（p < Bonferroni校正阈值0.00128）。我们发现苦味敏感等位基因与肾功能受损之间存在新的关联，表现为血清肌酐水平升高（p = 9.80×10）、尿中脯氨酸甜菜碱水平降低（p = 3.18×10）以及双相情感障碍风险升高（p = 4.01×10）。
本研究突出了TAS2R38基因型对食物偏好、摄入量、肾功能和双相情感障碍的潜在影响。对基因联系的进一步研究将有助于制定有针对性的干预措施和公共卫生策略，以降低与饮食相关的健康风险。
