Yong-tak Jung

The ability to detect toxic compounds in foods is essential for animal survival. However, the minimal subunit composition of gustatory receptors required for sensing aversive chemicals in Drosophila is unknown. Here we report that three gustatory receptors, GR8a, GR66a and GR98b function together in the detection of L-canavanine, a plant-derived insecticide. Ectopic co-expression of Gr8a and Gr98b in Gr66a-expressing, bitter-sensing gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) confers responsiveness to L-c

Animals discriminate nutritious food from toxic substances using their sense of taste. Since taste perception requires taste receptor cells to come into contact with water-soluble chemicals, it is a form of contact chemosensation. Concurrent with that contact, mechanosensitive cells detect the texture of food and also contribute to the regulation of feeding. Little is known, however, about the extent to which chemosensitive and mechanosensitive circuits interact. Here, we show Drosophila prefers

Animals must detect aversive compounds to survive. Bitter taste neurons express heterogeneous combinations of bitter receptors that diversify their response profiles, but this remains poorly understood. Here we describe groups of taste neurons in Drosophila that detect the same bitter compounds using unique combinations of gustatory receptors (GRs). These distinct complexes also confer responsiveness to non-overlapping sets of additional compounds. While either GR32a/GR59c/GR66a or GR22e/GR32a/G

Regulation of feeding is essential for animal survival. The pharyngeal sense organs can act as a second checkpoint of food quality , due to their position between external taste organs such as the labellum which initially assess food quality, and the digestive tract . Growing evidence provides support that the pharyngeal sensory neurons regulate feeding, but much is still unknown. We found that a pair of gustatory receptor neurons in the LSO, a Drosophila adult pharyngeal organ which expresses f

Taste receptors are responsible for detecting their ligands not only in taste receptor cells (TRCs) but also in non-gustatory organs. For several decades, many research groups have accumulated evidence for such "ectopic" expression of taste receptors. More recently, some of the physiologic functions (apart from taste) of these ectopic taste receptors have been identified. Here, we summarize our current understanding of these ectopic taste receptors across multiple organs. With a particular focus

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation(TENS), acupuncture-needling, and electroacupuncture are useful non-ablative methods in medical practice for relief of pain. These procedures appear to work by causing an increased discharge in afferent nerve fibers which in turn modifies the transmission of impulses in pain pathways. It is known that the mechanism of analagesic effect via these maneuvers are variable depending on the stimulating parameters. For example, the endogenous opioid system is

Taste sensation is the gatekeeper for direct decisions on feeding behavior and evaluating the quality of food. Nutritious and beneficial substances such as sugars and amino acids are represented by sweet and umami tastes, respectively, whereas noxious substances and toxins by bitter or sour tastes. Essential electrolytes including Na+ and other ions are recognized by the salty taste. Gustatory information is initially generated by taste buds in the oral cavity, projected into the central nervous

Chemosensory receptors are expressed primarily in sensory organs, but their expression elsewhere can permit ligand detection in other contexts that contribute to survival. The ability of sweet taste receptors to detect natural sugars, sugar alcohols, and artificial sweeteners suggests sweet taste receptors are involved in metabolic regulation in both peripheral organs and in the central nervous system. Our limited knowledge of sweet taste receptor expression in the brain, however, has made it di

Neuronal regulation of energy and bone metabolism is important for body homeostasis. Many studies have emphasized the importance of synaptic adhesion molecules in the formation of synapses, but their roles in physiology still await further characterization. Here, we found that the synaptic adhesion molecule Calsyntenin-3 (CLSTN3) regulates energy and bone homeostasis. Clstn3 global knockout mice show reduced body mass with improved leptin sensitivity and increased energy expenditure compared to

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has widely been employed as a method of obtaining analgesia in medical practice. The mechanisms of pain relief by TENS are known to be associated with the spinal gate control mechanism or descending pain inhibitory system. However, most of the studies concerning the analgesic effects and their mechanisms for TENS have dealt with somatic pain. Thus, in this experiment, we investigated the analgesic effects of TENS on renal pain as a model of visc

The sense of taste arises from the detection of chemicals in food by taste buds, the peripheral cellular detectors for taste. Although numerous studies have extensively investigated taste buds, research on neural circuits from primary taste neurons innervating taste buds to the central nervous system has only recently begun owing to recent advancements in neuroscience research tools. This minireview focuses primarily on recent reports utilizing advanced neurogenetic tools across relevant brain r

Abstract Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) are dynamically regulated by luminal contents, including dietary ingredients, food additives, and microbiota‐derived metabolites. Although sugar substitutes are commonly used as food additives for their sweet taste and lower calorie content, there is limited experimental evidence regarding their potential to drive gut remodeling. In this study, we designed experimental models for short‐term consumption of erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol widely used

Taste buds, the neuroepithelial organs responsible for the detection of gustatory stimuli in the oral cavity, arise from stem/progenitor cells among nearby basal keratinocytes. Using genetic lineage tracing, Lgr5 and Lgr6 were suggested as the specific markers for the stem/progenitor cells of taste buds, but recent evidence implied that taste buds may arise even in the absence of these markers. Thus, we wanted to verify the genetic lineage tracing of lingual Lgr5- and Lgr6-expressing cells. Unex