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Effect of bitter tastants on human bronchi

Nature Medicine volume 17, page 775 (2011)Cite this article

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We interpret these findings as showing that, at very high concentrations, bitter tastants may indeed relax smooth muscle; however, our inability to reverse the effect in washout suggests either irreversible inhibition of contraction or cell injury. Some of the differences between our results may be explained by the use of second-order bronchi in our studies as compared with the fourth-order bronchi in the study by Deshpande et al.1. Different pharmacological classes of agonists have differential effects depending on airway diameter5. In asthma, large airways are thought to be the main contributors to airflow obstruction, whereas in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, smaller airway constriction has a greater role in the pathophysiology. The localization and function of bitter taste receptors within human airways needs clarification if we are to understand the possible roles of TAS2R agonists as bronchodilators.

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Figure 1: Relaxation of human bronchi to isoprenaline and bitter tastants.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiovascular and Respiratory Studies, University of Hull, Hull York Medical School, Hull, United Kingdom

    Alyn H Morice & Robert T Bennett

  2. Centre for Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, United Kingdom

    Mubarak A Chaudhry, Michael E Cowen, Steven C Griffin & Mahmoud Loubani

Authors
  1. Alyn H Morice
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  2. Robert T Bennett
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  3. Mubarak A Chaudhry
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  4. Michael E Cowen
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  5. Steven C Griffin
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  6. Mahmoud Loubani
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Correspondence to Alyn H Morice.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Morice, A., Bennett, R., Chaudhry, M. et al. Effect of bitter tastants on human bronchi. Nat Med 17, 775 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0711-775

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