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Bronchodilator activity of bitter tastants in human tissue

Nature Medicine volume 17, page 776 (2011)Cite this article

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A Correspondence to this article was published on 07 July 2011

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To the Editor:

We read with interest the article by Deshpande et al.1 on bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) in the lungs and the expression of TAS2Rs on human airway smooth muscle (ASM). The authors describe experiments in which TAS2R agonists, such as chloroquine, evoked relaxation of mouse tracheal rings that was threefold greater in magnitude than that elicited by β-adrenergic receptor agonists1 (the current gold-standard bronchodilator therapy for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease2). We sought to investigate the uncharacteristically weak bronchodilator activity of isoproterenol in human tissue.

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Figure 1: Comparison of chloroquine- and isoprenaline-induced relaxation of isolated human airway smooth muscle.

References

  1. Deshpande, D.A. et al. Nat. Med. 16, 1299–1304 (2010).

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  2. Bateman, E.D. et al. Eur. Respir. J. 31, 143–178 (2008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Respiratory Pharmacology Group, Pharmacology and Toxicology Section, National Heart and Lung Institute Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Maria G Belvisi, Nicole Dale & Mark A Birrell

  2. Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Brendan J Canning

Authors
  1. Maria G Belvisi
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  2. Nicole Dale
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  3. Mark A Birrell
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  4. Brendan J Canning
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria G Belvisi.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Belvisi, M., Dale, N., Birrell, M. et al. Bronchodilator activity of bitter tastants in human tissue. Nat Med 17, 776 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0711-776a

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