Electrophysiology of Sodium Receptors in Taste Cells

Abstract

Sodium intake is important to maintain proper osmolarity and volume of extracellular fluid invertebrates. The ability to find sources of sodium ions for managing electrolyte homeostasis relieson the activity of the taste system to sense salt. Several studies have been performed to under-stand the mechanisms underlying Na+ reception in taste cells, the peripheral detectors for foodchemicals. It is now generally accepted that Na+ interacts with specific ion channels in taste cellmembrane, called sodium receptors. As ion channels, these proteins mediate transmembrane ionfluxes (that is, electrical currents) during their operation. Thus, a lot of information on the func-tional properties of sodium receptors has been obtained by using electrophysiological techniques.Here, I review our current knowledge on the biophysical and physiological features of these re-ceptors obtained by applying the patch-clamp recording techniques to single taste cells.