Human TAS2R39 Stable Cell Line - HEK293

Vanilla is widely used in food preparations around the world for its sensory properties, which are mainly related to its aroma, with vanillin being the main compound in processed vanilla. It is well known that vanillin also causes bitterness, a secondary sensory sensation, but the molecular mechanism underlying its bitter taste has never been reported. An assay buffer for vanillin was tested against all 25 known human bitter taste receptors, TAS2R, in vitro. Three receptors, TAS2R14, TAS2R20 and TAS2R39, were activated, indicating that these receptors are mediating the bitter taste of vanillin. The results may help improve the overall sensory profile of this widely used food ingredient, but more importantly can serve as a starting point for further studies to explore the potential of vanillin in sensory nutrition and other pharmaceutical applications.

Dose-response curves were obtained after stimulation of HEK293 PEAKrapid Gα16Gi/o44 cells overexpressing TAS2R14, TAS2R20, and TAS2R39 bitter receptors.

Figure 1. Activity of vanillin on human TAS2R14, TAS2R20, and TAS2R39 bitter taste receptors. (A) The graph shows dose-response curves obtained after stimulation of HEK293 PEAKrapid Gα16Gi/o44 cells overexpressing TAS2R14 (black filled triangles), TAS2R20 (black filled squares), and TAS2R39 (black filled diamonds). (B) Calcium responses of TAS2R14 (solid line), TAS2R20 (dashed line), and TAS2R39 (dash-dotted line) expressing cells to 3 mM vanillin. Calcium indicators were loaded in receptor-expressing cells, and fluorescence emission was recorded before and after exposure of cells to vanillin. (Morini G, et al. 2021)