Taste perception of monosodium glutamate and inosine monophosphate by129P3/J and C57BL/6ByJ mice

Abstract

Our previous studies have shown that in long-term two-bottle preference tests, mice from the C57BL/6ByJ (B6) inbred strain drink more monosodium glutamate (MSG) and inosine monophosphate (IMP) than mice from the 129P3/J (129) inbred strain. The goal of this study was to examine whether this variation in consumption could be attributed to strain differences in perception of the taste quality of MSG and IMP. We developed a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in B6 and 129 mice to 100 mM MSG or 10 mM IMP and used a brief-access taste assay to examine CTA generalization. B6 and 129 mice did not differ in the generalization patterns following CTA to MSG: mice from both strains generalized CTA from MSG to NaCl. In contrast, strain differences in the generalization patterns were evident following the CTA to IMP: while mice from both strains generalized CTA from IMP to MSG, 129 mice tended to have stronger CTA generalization to saccharin and D-tryptophan, both of which are perceived as sweet by humans. These data suggest that the strain differences in MSG consumption are not due to variation in perception of the taste quality of MSG. Instead, the differential intake of IMP likely reflects strain differences in the way the taste quality of IMP is perceived. Our data suggest that mice perceive MSG and IMP as complex taste stimuli: some taste components are shared between these two substances, but their relative intensity seems to be different for MSG and IMP. The amiloride-sensitive salt taste component is more prevalent in MSG than in IMP taste, and in B6 compared with 129 mice.

Steviol glycosides enhance pancreatic beta-cell function and taste sensation by potentiation of TRPM5 channel activity

“…The used solutions were 1% sucrose (sweet), the minimal concentration for which a preference can be detected47. A stimulatory concentration of 150 mM MKG; umami)48, 100 μM quinine (bitter) or 25 μM in the Tas1r2,Tas1r3 (−/−)2 mice on the 48 h taste preference test and 10 mM citric acid (Sour). As stevioside tastes 300 times sweeter than sucrose and 3% sucrose is preferred by WT mice to a great extent, we used 0.01% or 124 μM stevioside, and similarly 124 μM rebaudioside A or steviol2947.…”

Defects in the Peripheral Taste Structure and Function in the MRL/lpr Mouse Model of Autoimmune Disease

“…We followed standard procedures developed by several laboratories for testing mice [45], [46], [47], [48], [49], [50]. Briefly, mice were water-deprived for 22.5 h before 30 min training sessions and before test sessions for bitter, salty, and sour taste compounds.…”

An Examination of the Role of L-Glutamate and Inosine 5′-Monophosphate in Hedonic Taste-Guided Behavior by Mice Lacking the T1R1 + T1R3 Receptor

“…Most behavioral work has focused on the T1R1 + T1R3 heterodimer due, in part, to the availability of knock-out mice for each receptor subunit. When amiloride, an epithelial sodium channel blocker that is tasteless to rodents and reduces the contribution of the sodium component in the taste of MSG (Eylam et al 2003;Murata et al 2009), is included in the stimulus, mice lacking the T1R1 receptor subunit show only a slightly reduced conditioned aversion to MSG (Kusuhara et al 2013). In contrast, T1R1-and T1R3-KO mice show no unconditioned preference for MSG + IMP (in amiloride) when presented for the animal to freely lick in a brief-access taste test that minimizes the impact of postingestive influences on responses (Zhao et al 2003).…”