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bioRxiv · 10.1101/842112

Genetic Deletion of TrpV1 and TrpA1 Does not Alter Avoidance of or Patterns of Brainstem Activation to Citric Acid in Mice

Yu, T.·Wilson, C. E.·Stratford, J. M.·Finger, T. E.
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Abstract

Exposure of the oral cavity to acidic solutions evokes not only a sensation of sour, but also of sharp or tangy. Acidic substances potentially stimulate both taste buds and acid-sensitive mucosal free nerve endings. Mice lacking taste function (P2X2/P2X3 double-KO mice) refuse acidic solutions similarly to wildtype mice and intraoral infusion of acidic solutions in these KO animals evokes substantial c-Fos activity within orosensory trigeminal nuclei as well as of the nucleus of the solitary tract (nTS) (Stratford et. al 2017). This residual acid-evoked, non-taste activity includes areas that receive inputs from trigeminal and glossopharyngeal peptidergic (CGRP-containing) nerve fibers that express TrpA1 and TrpV1 both of which are activated by low pH. We compared avoidance responses in wildtype (WT) and TrpA1/V1 double KO (TRPA1/V1Db1-/-) mice in brief-access behavioral assay (lickometer) to 1, 3, 10, 30 mM citric acid, along with 100 M SC45647 and H2O. Both WT and TRPA1/V1Db1-/- show similar avoidance, including to higher concentrations of citric acid (10 and 30 mM; pH 2.62 and pH 2.36 respectively), indicating that neither TrpA1 nor TrpV1 is necessary for the acid avoidance behavior in animals with an intact taste system. Similarly, induction of c-Fos in the nTS and dorsomedial spinal trigeminal nucleus was similar in the WT and TRPA1/V1Db1-/-animals. Taken together these results suggest non-TrpV1 and non-TrpA1 receptors underlie the residual responses to acids in mice lacking taste function.

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Yu, T., Wilson, C. E., Stratford, J. M., Finger, T. E.. 2019-11-15. Genetic Deletion of TrpV1 and TrpA1 Does not Alter Avoidance of or Patterns of Brainstem Activation to Citric Acid in Mice. https://doi.org/10.1101/842112

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