WIKIMEDIA, LHOONStaphylococcus bacteria from people’s noses produce amino acids that curb secretions of antimicrobial proteins in the sinus, according to a report published yesterday (September 5) in Science Signaling. The amino acids activate sweet taste receptors present on sinus cells, suggesting that pharmaceutical inhibition of these receptors may have the potential to treat sinus infections.
“This work expands upon a direction of research involving taste receptors and identifies mechanisms by which Staphylococcus bacteria modulate host immunity via interactions with these receptors,” says Martin Desrosiers of the University of Montreal who was not involved with the project. “It also helps explain how bacteria can contribute to the development and persistence of chronic rhinosinusitis,” he adds.
Taste receptors are only called taste receptors because they were first discovered on tongue cells, explains Robert Lee of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. But in fact, he says, “they are just chemosensors,” and are found in many different parts of the body, such as the kidney, pancreas, brain, and sinus. “We only know the tip of the iceberg of what ...
