U Colorado: Chemosensors in the nose: guardians of the airways

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23280357

Physiology (Bethesda). 2013 Jan;28(1):51-60. doi: 10.1152/physiol.00035.2012.

Chemosensors in the nose: guardians of the airways.

Tizzano M, Finger TE.

Source

Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, Rocky Mountain Taste & Smell Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado.

Abstract

The G-protein-coupled receptor molecules and downstream effectors that are used by taste buds to detect sweet, bitter, and savory tastes are also utilized by chemoresponsive cells of the airways to detect irritants. Here, we describe the different cell types in the airways that utilize taste-receptor signaling to trigger protective epithelial and neural responses to potentially dangerous toxins and bacterial infection.