Heart has 'sweet taste' receptors that can sense artificial sweeteners: Study

Researchers have found that the heart possesses sweet taste receptors similar to those on our tongues and stimulating these receptors with sweet substances can modulate the heartbeatThe discovery opens new avenues for understanding heart function and potentially for developing novel treatments for heart failureThe new research found that these receptors are not just present on heart muscle but also functionalWhen the researchers stimulated these receptors in both human and mouse heart cells using aspartame a common artificial sweetener they observed a significant increase in the force of heart muscle contraction and accelerated calcium handling ndash key processes for a healthy heartbeatWhile taste receptors are traditionally associated with the tongue and our ability to perceive flavours recent studies have shown that these receptors exist in other parts of the body where they likely play different rolesThis new study is the first to identify specific sweet taste receptors known as TAS1R2 and TAS1R3 on the surface of heart muscle cellsldquoAfter you eat a meal its been shown that your heart rate and blood pressure actually are increasingrdquo said Micah Yoder a graduate student in the lab of Jonathan Kirk at Loyola University ChicagoPreviously this was thought to be a neural axis thats being signaledldquoBut were proposing a more direct consequence where we have a spike in our blood sugar after eating a meal and thats binding to these sweet taste receptors on the heart muscle cells causing a difference in the heartbeatrdquo he addedIntriguingly the researchers also found that these receptors are more abundant in the hearts of patients with heart failure suggesting a possible link to diseaseFurther investigation revealed that stimulating the receptors triggers a cascade of molecular events within the heart cells involving key proteins that control calcium flow and muscle contractionAdditionally their research may explain why high consumption of artificially sweetened beverages is linked to arrhythmogenesis or an irregular heartbeatNot only are these sweet taste receptors particularly stimulated by artificial sweeteners like aspartame overstimulation of these sweet taste receptors lead to a an increase in arrhythmic like behaviour in the heart cells researchers foundHowever further research is needed to fully understand the longterm effects of stimulating these receptors in the heart as well as how these receptors might be targeted to strengthen the heart in the case of heart failureThe work was set to be presented at the 69th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in Los Angeles The Biophysical Society has been established to lead development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysicsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever