# Taste Receptor Genetics, The Sinonasal Microbiome and Chronic Rhinosinusitis

> **NIH VA I01** · PHILADELPHIA VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · —

## Abstract

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is one of the most common diseases for which people visit a health care provider
and receive antibiotics. Recent studies have reported that veterans deployed to the Iraq or Afghan theaters of
operation are twice as likely to develop upper respiratory disorders. Veterans of OEF/OIF presenting with post
deployment onset of rhinosinusitis undisputedly recount that their symptoms were initiated within several
weeks of being deployed supporting an environmental contribution. While bacteria in the sinonasal cavity
contribute to the pathophysiology, one puzzle is how microbial species that are more common in people with
this disease are also constituents of the normal sinonasal microbiota of healthy people. These phenotypic
differences may be due to the inborn genetics of the human host, specifically variation in the taste receptor
gene family that are accentuated with exposure to varied environments. Some of these bitter taste receptors, in
addition to detecting chemicals on the tongue (taste), also detect secreted bacterial chemicals and trigger the
ciliated cells of the sinonasal epithelium to launch an attack. One by-product of this particular physiological
system is that people who are not able to taste certain types of bitter compounds may be less able to fight
certain bacteria with the same weak sensory signaling pathway. The goal of the proposed research is to
combine the expertise of three laboratories to test whether there are interactions between genetic variation of
the human host, individual nasal microbiota, and the development of chronic rhinosinusitis: (1) A surgeon
scientist with expertise in the medical and surgical treatment of individuals with CRS with access to patients
with and without exposure to a foreign environment will ascertain and evaluate the patients. (2) A genomics
expert will quantify the human microbiome to the species level using new technologies. (3) A human geneticist
and her team will genotype human genomic DNA and evaluate subjects for their ability to taste bitter
compounds. The hypothesis is that people with different inborn differences in their ability to detect the
chemicals secreted by bacteria will have a different microbiome patterns and susceptibility to CRS. To that
end, we will evaluate 60 patients with CRS (cases) and 60 age-, sex, and race-matched healthy controls. This
“bitterome” research could explain, at least in part, how bacterial virulence arises in specific individuals and
perhaps lead to simple clinical tests to determine how best to personalize treatment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10060737
- **Project number:** 5I01CX001617-04
- **Recipient organization:** PHILADELPHIA VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Noam A Cohen
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-10-01 → 2022-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10060737

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10060737, Taste Receptor Genetics, The Sinonasal Microbiome and Chronic Rhinosinusitis (5I01CX001617-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10060737. Licensed CC0.

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