%0 Journal Article
%T A gene-wide investigation on polymorphisms in the taste receptor 2R14 (TAS2R14) and susceptibility to colorectal cancer
%A Daniele Campa
%A Pavel Vodicka
%A Barbara Pardini
%A Alessio Naccarati
%A Maura Carrai
%A Ludmila Vodickova
%A Jan Novotny
%A Kari Hemminki
%A Asta F£¿rsti
%A Roberto Barale
%A Federico Canzian
%J BMC Medical Genetics
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2350-11-88
%X Using a tagging approach we investigated all the common genetic variation of the gene region in relation to colon cancer risk with a case-control study design. This is, at the best of our knowledge also the first report on the allele frequencies of the gene in the Caucasian population.We found no evidence of statistically significant associations between polymorphisms in the TAS2R14 gene and colon cancer risk.In conclusion we can confidently exclude a major role for common polymorphisms of the TAS2R14 gene in colorectal cancer risk in this population, although in this report we had insufficient statistical power to completely exclude the possibility that rare variants of the TAS2R14 might be involved in colorectal cancer risk.The gustatory system has been selected during evolution to detect non-volatile nutritive and beneficial compounds as well as potentially harmful substances. In particular, bitter taste has evolved as a central warning signal against the ingestion of potentially toxic substances, including plant alkaloids and other environmental toxins. Recently, the most studied family of bitter taste receptors (referred as TAS2Rs) [1] has been characterized not just in the tongue but also in the gut[2]. The gastrointestinal (GI) mucosa comes in direct contact with a vast array of potentially harmful substances in the lumen and acts as a sensory organ by detecting luminal content and sending messages to the nervous system to initiate the appropriate response of neutralization and expulsion of drugs, toxins, and microorganisms. While it is true that certain ligands that activate TAS2Rs are biotransformed to eliminate their toxicity, the biotransformation of other ligands can increase toxicity. The first, and perhaps strongest, line of defense against toxins may be at the level of taste by avoiding ingestion.As a second line of defence molecular sensing in the GI tract could be responsible for the detection of ingested harmful drugs and toxins, thereby initiating
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2350/11/88