# Plasticity of sweet taste: importance of diet and receptor expression in taste buds

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST · 2021 · $155,342

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Consumers report taste as the number one driver of food choice. Yet, taste perception can vary greatly across
individuals and is associated with dietary preferences and food choice, with potential to impact nutrition and
health. Conversely, dietary habits are known to impact taste response. For example, diets high in sugary foods
and beverages are associated with reduced sweet taste function. However, the pathway in which humans
experience plasticity of the sweet taste perception has yet to be elucidated. A recent study in a mouse model
suggests that dietary exposure to saccharin modulates gene expression of a sweet taste receptor. The overall
research goal of the present proposal is to establish fundamental knowledge of sweet taste receptor biology in
humans, in terms of dietary intake, taste perception, and individual characteristics. Our hypothesis is that
greater exposure to sweet foods and beverages will be associated with lower sweet taste function and reduced
expression of the sweet taste receptor gene. Thus, our Aims are to investigate the expression of the sweet
taste receptor in human taste buds in regards to 1) intake of sweet foods and beverages, 2) modulation due to
exposure to sweet stimulus, and 3) individual characteristics (e.g., taste genetics). We will achieve these aims
by combining interdisciplinary approaches between biology and sensory psychophysics. Using a non-invasive
biopsy procedure, we can collect taste buds from human lingual tissue by harvesting fungiform papillae. Using
these tissues, we can quantify expression levels of taste receptor genes, allowing for qualifying the relationship
with taste function and explore how exposure modulates expression levels over time. This proposal includes
two human subject studies, a cross-sectional study looking between high and low consumers of sweet foods
and beverages and a 5-week longitudinal exposure study. Both studies include measures of taste intensity and
sensitivity, intake and preferences for sweet foods and beverages, fungiform papillae density, taste receptor
genetics, and taste receptor expression. The proposed study will provide new information regarding the
molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating sweet taste receptor expression and further establish a link
between dietary intake, taste psychophysics, and food behavior. A greater understanding of the plasticity of
sweet taste and its underlying mechanism may contribute to clinical significance in understanding of the health
implications linked with consumption of sweet foods and beverages, such as obesity and diabetes.
Long-term objectives include identifying strategies to improve taste perception through dietary modification.
This would be impactful for individuals with reduced or altered taste function in order to improve dietary quality
and nutrition.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10203560
- **Project number:** 1R21DC018906-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
- **Principal Investigator:** Alissa Allen Nolden
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $155,342
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-04-15 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10203560

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10203560, Plasticity of sweet taste: importance of diet and receptor expression in taste buds (1R21DC018906-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10203560. Licensed CC0.

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