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作者：雷霆之怒公益服 来源：http://www.edmi.com.cn 时间：2019-03-25 19:02
该研究题为《重建味觉系统》（"Rewiring the Taste System"），其他贡献者包括Camilo A. Parada (哥伦比亚大学医学中心) 和Nicholas J. P. Ryba (马里兰州贝塞斯达市，国家卫生研究院国家口腔与颅面研究所) To determine whether these molecules guide taste receptor-to-neuron connectivity, the CUMC team genetically engineered two types of mice: one in which bitter receptors expressed Semaphorin 7A, the type normally produced by sweet receptors, and a second in which sweet receptors were modified to express Semaphorin 3A, the type produced by bitter receptors. The researchers hypothesized that the bitter receptors in the first model would now activate sweet neurons while sweet receptors in the second model would connect to bitter neurons.
原标题：发现 | CUMC哥大医学中心: 是苦是甜？舌头如何防止你的味觉错乱
The translation is for your reference only.
Zuker博士表示，“味觉系统为我们探索味觉细胞随机更迭时如何与神经元建立并保持关联提供了绝佳的机会，像这样的分布式研究有利于我们破解多数基本感觉的神经传导机制。”
哥大医学中心生化和分子生物物理系副研究员，同时也是该研究的联合作者Hojoon Lee博士说道，“大部分控制味觉的脑回路在出生时就已经形成，但舌头则是由味蕾上的感受细胞与大脑进行连接的。这是一个高度活跃的过程：味觉细胞每一到三周更迭一次，感受器也可能会被替换；每次新的味觉感受细胞产生后，都要与大脑建立正确的关联。”
The study was supported by grants from funds the National Institute On Drug Abuse (R01DA035025). The authors declare no financial or other conflicts of interests.
New research at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has revealed how special molecules help the tongue communicate with the brain to identify the correct taste. Using this knowledge, scientists were able to rewire the taste-system of mice to perceive sweet stimuli as bitter tastes, and vice versa. The discovery provides new insights into how the tongue keeps its sense of taste organized despite the rapid turnover of the cells in its taste buds.
哥伦比亚大学医学中心（CUMC）一项新的研究揭示了特殊分子是如何帮助舌头与大脑建立交流机制以辨别味道的。使用这一发现，科学家能够重新编辑小白鼠的味觉系统，使之将甜味当成苦味，或将苦味当成甜味。该发现提供了新的科学前景，有助于研究“在味蕾细胞迅速更迭时舌头如何保持味觉”这一问题。
研究者想弄清楚，细胞在快速地随机更迭时，，如何正确地与大脑保持关联。他们猜想，很可能新产生的味觉“感受器”细胞会表达专门的分子信号，以吸引正确的味觉神经元与之匹配。
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The researchers wondered how the right connections are maintained when there's such a fast and random turnover of taste cells. They hypothesized that when taste receptor cells are produced, the cells most likely express dedicated molecular signals that attract the right complement of taste neurons.
The researchers conducted an additional experiment to confirm that the receptors had been rewired in the brain by switching the semaphorins. Mice whose bitter receptors were engineered to express the sweet semaphorin were presented with both plain water and bitter-tasting water. Unlike the normal controls, “the engineered mice did not avoid the bitter water” said Dr. Lee.
为了识别这些信号，CUMC的团队对比了味觉感受细胞的基因表达，锁定了两种区别最大的味觉类型，苦和甜。研究者发现这两种味觉细胞在信号素（一类帮助建立神经回路的蛋白质族）的表达上差异最大，苦味感受器的基因表达会产生大量的3A型信号素变体，而甜味感受器则会产生大量的7A型信号素。
"Most portions of the brain circuits that govern taste are hardwired at birth, except in the tongue, where the cells in our taste buds — taste receptor cells — connect to taste neurons," said co-lead author Hojoon Lee, PhD, an associate research scientist in the department of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at CUMC. "It's a highly dynamic process. Taste cells are replaced every one to three weeks, and one type of receptor may be replaced by a different type. Each time a new taste receptor cell is made, it needs to make the right connection with the brain.”
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研究人员们正在研究感知酸味、咸味和鲜味的味觉感受器细胞的信号分子和其与神经元的关联。
该研究于今天（译者注：2017年8月9日）发布在《自然》的线上版面。
The findings were published today (August 9, 2017) in the online edition of Nature.
To identify these signals, the CUMC team compared the gene expression of taste receptor cells, focusing on the two most dissimilar types: bitter and sweet. The researchers found that the two types of taste cells differed most strikingly in their expression of semaphorins, a family of proteins that help create neural circuits. While bitter receptors expressed large amounts of the Semaphorin 3A variant, sweet receptors expressed large amounts of Semaphorin 7A.
The researchers are currently studying the signaling molecules and connectivity of sour, salty, and umami taste receptors.
“我们尝到的所有味道都是某些或全部基本味觉的组合，因此犯错的空间非常小，”该研究的带头人Charles S. Zuker博士说道。Zuker是生化和分子生物物理学及神经科学教授，他是霍华德休斯医学院在哥大医学中心的研究员，同时也是哥伦比亚大学Zuckerman研究所的首席研究员。“一个有机体的生存，某种程度上取决于它从令人厌恶的味道（如酸和苦）中辨识甜味的能力。人通过上千个微小的感受器官来感知味道，这些器官叫做“味蕾”，它们多数位于舌头的上表面。每个味蕾含有50到100个味觉细胞，细胞内存在着被称为‘感受器’的分子，它们探测出每种类型的味道（如酸、甜、苦、咸、鲜），再由味觉细胞将信息传递给大脑。”
The other authors are Lindsey J. Macpherson (CUMC), Camilo A. Parada (CUMC), and Nicholas J.P. Ryba (NIH).
How the Tongue Keeps Its Tastes Straight
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