Association of a bitter taste receptor mutation with Balkan Endemic Nephropathy (BEN)

Abstract

Our findings are at strong odds with the prediction that carriers of functional alleles of TAS2R43 are protected from BEN by an ability to detect and avoid aristolochic acid exposure. Evidence for a positive association between high-sensitivity alleles and BEN status suggests instead that possession of toxin-responsive receptor variants may paradoxically increase vulnerability, possibly by shifting attractive responses associated with low-intensity bitter sensations. The broad-spectrum tuning of the ~25-member TAS2R family as a whole toward xenobiotics points to a potentially far-reaching relevance of bitter responses to exposure-related disease in both individuals and populations.