肠道味觉受体细胞及其甜味感受

Taste Cells and Sweet Gustatory Sense in the Gut

味觉是人和动物的一种基本生理感觉,用来识别食物的性质、调节食欲、控制摄食量.味觉不仅仅存在于口腔中,同样存在于胃肠道中.最近研究表明,动物肠道的粘膜上存在着表达味觉受体和味觉相关因子的细胞,调控着肠道激素如GLP-1和GIP的分泌以及糖转运体SGLT-1和GLUT-2的表达.甜味剂的刺激影响这些激素的分泌及载体的表达,从而影响机体对葡萄糖的吸收和利用.肠道味觉的研究有助于揭示肠道消化吸收功能的调控机理,同时为糖尿病、肥胖、代谢失调及其它饮食相关疾病的治疗提供新的切入点.主要介绍了肠道粘膜上的味觉受体细胞、味觉的信号转导途径以及甜味感受对肠道激素的分泌和葡萄糖吸收的影响,最后讨论了味觉细胞生物学的发展方向.

Gustation is one of the human and animals＇ basic physiological senses, used for recognition of the nature of diet, regulation of appetite, and control of food intake. Besides in the oral cavity, the taste receptor cells and the taste signaling elements were discovered in the gastrointestinal tract, especially in the enteroendocrine cells. According to the recent research works, the taste cells as well as the taste receptors and α-gustducin were detected on the enteromucosal epithelium. Their presence in the gut could regulate the secretion of intestinal hormones such as GLP-1 and GIP and the expression of SGLT-1 and GLUT-2, which could also he regulated by sweetener stimulation, and accordingly absorption of glucose might be adjusted in such ways. The study of intestinal gustatory sense conduces to elucidate the mechanism of assimilation and absorption of glucose and to provide a novel approach to treat the patients with diet-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity and enteral metabolic disorders. The taste receptor cells among the enteromucosal cells, the expression of the gustatory signaling elements, the mechanism of the gustatory signal transduction, the influence sweet gustatory sense on secretion of the intestinal hormones and the absorption of glucose were reviewed, and the future development of gustatory cell biology were discussed.