# Administrative Supplement (Diversity) to Roles for Glucosensors in Taste Function

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2023 · $97,086

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The typical Western diet is loaded with simple sugars, and their palatable taste is a predominant factor fueling
excess calorie intake, body weight gain, and diabetes in the United States. A single heterodimeric G-protein
coupled receptor (T1R2+T1R3) found in mammalian taste cells is widely considered the principal means through
which all simple sugars are detected and promote consumption via the gustatory system. Yet, recent studies
from our laboratory revealed that rodents come to respond more positively to the orosensory properties of
glucose-containing sugars than other types of sweeteners. The preliminary findings in the parent R01 proposal
and this application reveal that glucokinase, a phosphorylating enzyme involved in other glucosensing systems,
is expressed in murine taste cells, is regulated by energy status, and diet. Activation of gustatory glucokinase
bolsters glucose appetite, while silencing glucokinase impairs the ability to discriminate glucose from another
sugar, fructose. Accordingly, our working hypothesis is that glucokinase is part of a T1R2+T1R3-independent
taste receptor that transduces glucose-specific signals in the gustatory system. The overall goal of this
administrative diversity supplement proposal, then, is to further clarify relative contributions of this novel
gustatory glucosensor to the hedonic appeal of glucose-containing sugars. In Aim 1, we will determine which
types of dietary sugars regulate glucokinase expression in the taste bud cells of sweet-sensitive mice, and, using
a virogenetic silencing approach, will investigate whether lingual glucokinase is required for the hedonic
appeal of glucose disaccharides. In Aim 2, we will combine genetic manipulation of taste receptor function
with electrophysiology to determine how glucokinase-dependent taste signals are encoded at the first order
central relay of the gustatory system in sweet-sensitive and sweet-insensitive mice, and how this
information is reorganized after dietary exposure to simple sugars. The outcomes of these aims will help
identify novel and potentially critical aspects of nutrient sensing, with the ultimate goal of identifying new
strategies to curb appetite.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10655237
- **Project number:** 3R01DC018562-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Lindsey A Schier
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $97,086
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-12-01 → 2025-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10655237

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10655237, Administrative Supplement (Diversity) to Roles for Glucosensors in Taste Function (3R01DC018562-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10655237. Licensed CC0.

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