All articles tagged with #bitter taste receptors
Researchers used the advanced AI model AlphaFold3 to predict the structures of all 25 human bitter taste receptors, finding it more accurate than previous models. The study revealed conserved intracellular regions and variable extracellular regions, suggesting these receptors play a dual role in taste and gut-brain signaling, with implications for appetite control, glucose metabolism, and diabetes research.
A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania has found that injecting the local anesthetic lidocaine near the site of head and throat tumors can activate bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) in cancer cells, leading to cellular death. Lidocaine was already suspected to be beneficial to cancer patients, but this study provides a better understanding of how it works. The findings could potentially improve treatment options for head and neck cancer patients and pave the way for clinical trials combining lidocaine with standard cancer therapies.