One of the unique characteristics of the Monell Center is that researchers use multidisciplinary approaches to address scientific questions regarding taste, smell, nutrition, and their relationship to human health and well-being. The primary expertise of Monell investigators ranges from analytical chemistry and chemical ecology (Drs. Preti and Kimball) to biochemistry and biophysics (Drs. Brand and Margolskee), molecular and cellular biology (Drs. Margolskee, Huang, and Wang), genetics and neuroscience (Drs. Tordoff, Bachmanov, Beauchamp, Reed. Yamazki, Reisert, Gelperin, and Lowe), endocrinology and physiology (Drs. Margolskee, Teff, Friedman, Wysocki, and Zhao), psychophysics and behavioral science (Drs. Mennella, Dalton, Breslin, Lundstrom, Pelchat, and Wise), and clinical research (Drs. Cowart and Teff). Regardless of their primary technical expertise, a number of these laboratories have found it very useful to incorporate histology and cellular localization methods into their research programs (e.g.. Fig. 1)[1]. However, other Center laboratories are less familiar with the techniques and/or equipment involved in anatomical/histological studies. For instance, geneticists such as Drs. Reed and Bachmanov had identified candidate genes for taste receptors that detect the bitter-tasting compound phenylthiocarbamide and sweet-tasting compounds, respectively[2,3]. They needed to determine, first, whether these genes were expressed in the peripheral taste organs, and then, in which types of taste bud cells. These researchers could use reverse-transcripfion PCR with RNA extracted from taste tissue to determine if these candidate gene products are preferentially expressed in taste buds. However, to determine which type of taste bud cells express these genes, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry are mostly commonly used on taste fissures. This Core will provide a common resource and reservoir of experience in chemosensory anatomical analysis and state-of-the-art visualization techniques that would be inefficient to replicate in each individual laboratory. Thus, the availability of Core services would extend the capabilities of the participating laboratories beyond each laboratory's capabilities.
| Lei, Weiwei; Ren, Wenwen; Ohmoto, Makoto et al. (2018) Activation of intestinal tuft cell-expressed Sucnr1 triggers type 2 immunity in the mouse small intestine. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115:5552-5557 |
| Freund, Jenna R; Mansfield, Corrine J; Doghramji, Laurel J et al. (2018) Activation of airway epithelial bitter taste receptors by Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolones modulates calcium, cyclic-AMP, and nitric oxide signaling. J Biol Chem 293:9824-9840 |
| Feng, Pu; Chai, Jinghua; Yi, Huilan et al. (2018) Aggravated gut inflammation in mice lacking the taste signaling protein ?-gustducin. Brain Behav Immun 71:23-27 |
| Qin, Yumei; Sukumaran, Sunil K; Jyotaki, Masafumi et al. (2018) Gli3 is a negative regulator of Tas1r3-expressing taste cells. PLoS Genet 14:e1007058 |
| Chang, Eugene H; Willis, Amanda L; McCrary, Hilary C et al. (2017) Association between the CDHR3 rs6967330 risk allele and chronic rhinosinusitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 139:1990-1992.e2 |
| Sukumaran, Sunil K; Lewandowski, Brian C; Qin, Yumei et al. (2017) Whole transcriptome profiling of taste bud cells. Sci Rep 7:7595 |
| Lipchock, Sarah V; Spielman, Andrew I; Mennella, Julie A et al. (2017) Caffeine Bitterness is Related to Daily Caffeine Intake and Bitter Receptor mRNA Abundance in Human Taste Tissue. Perception 46:245-256 |
| Hariri, Benjamin M; McMahon, Derek B; Chen, Bei et al. (2017) Flavones modulate respiratory epithelial innate immunity: Anti-inflammatory effects and activation of the T2R14 receptor. J Biol Chem 292:8484-8497 |
| Tordoff, Michael G; Pearson, Jordan A; Ellis, Hillary T et al. (2017) Does eating good-tasting food influence body weight? Physiol Behav 170:27-31 |
| Tomassini Barbarossa, Iole; Ozdener, M Hakan; Melania et al. (2017) Variant in a common odorant-binding protein gene is associated with bitter sensitivity in people. Behav Brain Res 329:200-204 |
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