The Cellular Mechanism for Water Detection in the Mammalian Taste System

Initiation of drinking behavior relies on both internal state and peripheral water detection. While central neural circuits regulating thirst have been well studied, it is still unclear how mammals recognize external water. Here we show that acid-sensing taste receptor cells (TRCs) that were previously suggested as the sour taste sensors also mediate taste responses to water. Genetic silencing of these TRCs abolished water-evoked responses in taste nerves. Optogenetic self-stimulation of acid-sensing TRCs in thirsty animals induced robust drinking responses toward light even without water. This behavior was only observed when animals were water-deprived but not under food- or salt-depleted conditions, indicating that the hedonic value of water-evoked responses is highly internal-state dependent. Conversely, thirsty animals lacking functional acid-sensing TRCs showed compromised discrimination between water and nonaqueous fluids. Taken together, this study revealed a function of mammalian acid-sensing TRCs that provide a cue for external water

Expression of taste receptors in Solitary Chemosensory Cells of rodent airways

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chemical irritation of airway mucosa elicits a variety of reflex responses such as coughing, apnea, and laryngeal closure. Inhaled irritants can activate either chemosensitive free nerve endings, laryngeal taste buds or solitary chemosensory cells (SCCs). The SCC population lies in the nasal respiratory epithelium, vomeronasal organ, and larynx, as well as deeper in the airway. The objective of this study is to map the distribution of SCCs within the airways and to determine the elements of the chemosensory transduction cascade expressed in these SCCs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We utilized a combination of immunohistochemistry and molecular techniques (rtPCR and in situ hybridization) on rats and transgenic mice where the Tas1R3 or TRPM5 promoter drives expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Epithelial SCCs specialized for chemoreception are distributed throughout much of the respiratory tree of rodents. These cells express elements of the taste transduction cascade, including Tas1R and Tas2R receptor molecules, α-gustducin, PLCβ2 and TrpM5. The Tas2R bitter taste receptors are present throughout the entire respiratory tract. In contrast, the Tas1R sweet/umami taste receptors are expressed by numerous SCCs in the nasal cavity, but decrease in prevalence in the trachea, and are absent in the lower airways.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Elements of the taste transduction cascade including taste receptors are expressed by SCCs distributed throughout the airways. In the nasal cavity, SCCs, expressing Tas1R and Tas2R taste receptors, mediate detection of irritants and foreign substances which trigger trigeminally-mediated protective airway reflexes. Lower in the respiratory tract, similar chemosensory cells are not related to the trigeminal nerve but may still trigger local epithelial responses to irritants. In total, SCCs should be considered chemoreceptor cells that help in preventing damage to the respiratory tract caused by inhaled irritants and pathogens.</p

Comparative gustatory responses in four species of gerbilline rodents

Integrated taste responses to chemical stimulation of the tongue were recorded from the intact chorda tympani nerve in four species of gerbils ( Meriones libycus, M. shawi, M. unguiculatus and Psammomys obesus ).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47116/1/359_2004_Article_BF00618177.pd

Workshop: Comprehensive Statistical Model Evaluation (NCME 2024)

This project was created to share workshop materials with participants

Big data exploration for smart manufacturing applications

Industrial Big Data management is gaining momentum as a relevant research topic for the development of innovative smart manufacturing applications. Big data technologies enable the collection, management and analysis of large amount of data from Cyber Physical Systems. In this context, data exploration is becoming a fundamental facility to let users/operators learn from collected data and take decisions. Exploration has to be performed according to different perspectives, spreading over all the hierarchy levels of the smart factory asset (from each device up to the fully connected enterprise and its products) and covering the entire life cycle value stream, from development to production stages. In this paper, we propose a model-based approach to represent data exploration scenarios, by abstracting from implementation details and taking into account different perspectives of the Reference Architectural Model for Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0). In particular, each scenario is related to the relevance of data to be explored and different user/operator requirements. A framework based on the approach and experiments in a real Industry 4.0 case study are also described