Researchers recently found taste receptors in the lungs that react to bitter substances, which could provide novel therapies for asthma sufferers. These taste receptors only communicate with muscle cells, unlike taste buds on the tongue that signal to the brain.
Initially, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine thought bitter substances would act as defense mechanisms against harmful gases, leading to constriction of the airways, worsening asthma symptoms and coughing.
Nevertheless, after conducting experiments with mice, the study concluded that these taste receptors actually respond to bitter substances in a beneficial manner by causing the tightened smooth muscles to relax and open the limited airways again. The promising results bring new hope in the search for better drugs that can benefit the 23 million asthma sufferers living in the United States, as well as the many others around the world.
Norman Edelman, chief medical officer at the American Lung Association, cautioned that the findings do not constitute a cure for asthma because neither inflammation of the lungs caused by asthma nor the causes of the disease were addressed. Still, both Edelman and Stephen Liggett, the study's senior author, said these taste receptors could be a target for treatment, which could lead to a new era of inhalers. Because bitter substances opened the airways effectively, they could be incorporated into this new class of inhalers. Currently, available inhalers all work within the same pathway, targeting the beta 2 adrenergic receptor.
-compiled by Jennifer Tran
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