Compositions and Methods for Providing or Modulating Sweet Taste or Methods of Screening Therefor
AssigneeMonell Chemical Senses Center
InventorRobert Franklin Margolskee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides methods for identifying a molecule that provides or enhances a sweet taste in the mouth and compositions containing such molecules. The methods involve determining the effect of a variety of known or new compounds on expression or functional activity of a glucose-transporter protein of the activity of an ATP-gated K+ channel (KATP) in a mammalian oral cell, taste cell, or heterologous cell that expresses the protein or channel.
Claims33
A method of identifying a molecule that provides or enhances a sweet taste in the mouth comprising:
- (a) contacting a test molecule with a mammalian cell or cell line that expresses a sulfonylurea receptor (SUR) and a potassium inwardly-rectifying channel (Kir) via an ATP-gated K+ channel (KATP) under in vitro culture conditions;
- and either
- (b)(i) measuring the electrophysiological or functional activity of the KATP channel in the contacted cell or cell line;
- wherein a decrease or inhibition in the KATP electrophysiological or functional activity of the cell or cell line contacted with the test molecule compared to that of a negative control cell or cell line identifies a test molecule that provides or enhances a sweet taste;
- or
- (b)(ii) measuring or detecting the nuclear localization of SUR1 in the contacted cell or cell line;
- wherein a change in the nuclear localization of SUR1 in the contacted cell or cell line relative to the nuclear localization of SUR in a negative control cell or cell line indicates a test molecule that provides or modulates a sweet taste.
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A method of identifying a molecule that provides or enhances a sweet taste in the mouth comprising:
- (a) contacting a test molecule with a mammalian cell or cell line that expresses a sugar-transporter under in vitro culture conditions;
- and
- (b) measuring the expression level or functional activity of the sugar-transporter by the contacted cell or cell line;
- wherein an increase in expression of the sugar-transporter or functional activity of the sugar-transporter by the cell or cell line contacted with the test molecule over that of a negative control cell or cell line identifies a test molecule that provides or enhances a sweet taste.
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A method of identifying a molecule that provides or enhances a sweet taste in the mouth comprising:
- (a) contacting a test molecule with a mammalian cell or cell line that expresses a sulfonylurea receptor 1 (SUR1) protein under in vitro culture conditions;
- and
- (b) detecting binding of the test molecule to the SUR1 protein in the culture;
- wherein the presence of a significant amount of binding of the test molecule to SUR1 in the cell or cell line contacted with the test molecule over that of a negative control cell or cell line identifies a test molecule that provides or enhances a sweet taste.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.