Among the surprising findings, scientists have “sweet taste” receptors, as well as those of our tongues, and stimulating these receptors with sweet substances regulates heartbeat. I discovered something I could do. This study opens new tools to understand cardiac function and may develop new treatments for heart failure.
Taste receptors are traditionally related to the ability to recognize the tongue and taste, but recent research shows that these receptors are likely to be present in other parts of the body and play different roles. It is shown. This new study was the first to identify a specific “sweet taste” receptor known as TAS1R2 and TAS1R3 on the surface of cardiomyocytes. The work will be presented in The 69th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting will be held in Los Angeles from February 15th to 19th, 2025.
New research has found that these receptors are not only present in the myocardium, but also functional. Researchers observed a significant increase in the forces of myocardial contraction and accelerated calcium treatment when stimulating these receptors in both human and mouse cardiac cells using the common artificial sweetener aspartame. I did.
“After eating, it showed that my heart rate and blood pressure were actually increasing,” said Mika Yoder, a graduate student at Jonathan Kirk’s lab at Loyola University Chicago. “Previously, this was thought to be the nerve axis where the signal is being signaled. But we propose a more direct result, where blood sugar levels rise sharply after eating a meal. This binds to these sweet taste receptors in cardiomyocytes, causing heartbeat differences,” he added.
Interestingly, the researchers also found that these receptors are more abundant in the hearts of patients with heart failure, suggesting a link to disease. Further investigations reveal that stimulation of receptors causes a cascade of molecular events within cardiac cells, involving key proteins that regulate calcium flow and muscle contraction.
“During heart failure, the heart changes its energetic landscape, prioritizing glucose uptake and glucose use. Therefore, during this energetic change, the heart is able to respond to this switch, and thus, during this energy change, the heart is able to nutritionally sensing ability to respond to this switch. “There’s a possibility that we need to change.” Yoder explained.
Furthermore, their studies may explain why high intake of artificially sweetened beverages is associated with arrhythmias or irregular heartbeat. Yoder not only does these sweet taste receptors be stimulated specifically by artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, but the overstimulation of these sweet taste receptors leads to increased behavior, such as arrhythmia in the heart cells. I found it.
However, to fully understand the long-term effects of stimulating these receptors in the heart and how these receptors are targeted to strengthen the heart in the case of heart failure. Further research is needed.
If you find this piece useful, consider supporting your work with a small, one-off, or monthly donation. With your contributions, we enable you to continue bringing you reliable, accurate, thought-provoking science and medical news. Independent reporting requires time, effort and resources, and with your support we can continue to explore the stories that matter to you. Together, we can ensure that important discoveries and developments reach those who need them most.
