Biology subjects

Zumpano, K. T.

Publications and source records attributed to Zumpano, K. T..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Temperature effects on taste preferences are influenced by TRPM8

Taste perception is influenced by stimulus and oral temperature. Change in oral temperature modulates trigeminal neurons. Whether trigeminal thermal sensing interacts with taste is unknown. Here we studied temperature influences on mouse taste preferences and how they could change following silencing of TRPM8 (transient receptor potential melastatin 8) - a thermoreceptor supporting cool and warm temperature coding by trigeminal neurons. Female and male TRPM8 gene deficient and C57BL/6J (B6) control mice (n = 69) entered thermolickometry tests where they sampled taste solutions at cool (15{degrees}C) and warm (30{degrees}C) temperatures during brief-access (10-sec long) exposure trials, which capture oral sensory/tongue control of licking behavior. Taste solutions included innately avoided bitter quinine (0.03 and 0.3 mM) and preferred sugars (sucrose or glucose, 100 and 500 mM). Mice were respectively maintained under water restriction or water-replete conditions during quinine and sugar tests, which were conducted separately. Analyses revealed that 15{degrees}C enhanced, while 30{degrees}C reduced, licks to quinine in both B6 and TRPM8 deficient mice, which responded similarly (p > 0.05). In contrast, licks to static concentrations of sugars trended towards enhancement by 30{degrees}C, compared to 15{degrees}C, in male B6 mice but were suppressed, and inhibited, by 30{degrees}C (p < 0.05) in male TRPM8 deficient mice. This result agrees with prior studies that show warmth normally facilitates sweetness and that 30{degrees}C stimulation of oral tissues becomes anomalously aversive in TRPM8 deficient mice. These data provide initial evidence that TRPM8 thermosensory influences interact with sugar taste preferences, which may reflect a trigeminal-taste cross-modal phenomenon.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Parabrachial Calca neurons influence aversive and appetitive taste function

The parabrachial (PB) nucleus participates in taste processing and integration with other senses. PB neurons that express the Calca gene support sensory-integrative responses, albeit only limited data have addressed their influence on taste. Here we studied how chemogenetic dampening of PB-Calca neurons impacted mouse orosensory preferences for diverse taste stimuli in brief-access fluid exposure tests, which capture oral sensory/tongue control of licking behavior. Intracranial delivery of Cre-dependent viruses in female and male CalcaCre/+ mice induced expression of the inhibitory designer receptor hM4Di:mCherry (hM4Di mice) or fluorophore mCherry alone (mCherry mice) in PB-Calca neurons. Several weeks later, hM4Di and mCherry mice entered brief-access tests where they could lick taste solutions on discrete seconds-long trials. Stimuli included the behaviorally avoided, but functionally different, bitter taste stimuli quinine (0 [water], 0.1, 0.3, and 1.0 mM) and cycloheximide (0, 0.001, 0.003, and 0.01 mM), and the appetitive sugar sucrose (0, 100, 300, 500, and 1000 mM). Both hM4Di and mCherry mice received the hM4Di ligand clozapine-N-oxide (CNO, 5 mg/kg, i.p.) prior to daily tests performed by blinded experimenters. With CNO, hM4Di mice displayed greater average licking (i.e., less avoidance) of quinine (p < 0.05), but not cycloheximide (p > 0.3), than mCherry mice, implying PB-Calca neurons variably influence orosensory responses across bitter stimuli. Moreover, male hM4Di mice selectively showed reduced mean licking preferences for sucrose under CNO (p < 0.05). These data suggest that PB-Calca neurons participate in both aversive and appetitive taste-guided behaviors, with their role in appetitive taste dependent on sex.

neuroscience↗