Bitter taste receptors as therapeutic targets: a review of the role and recent advances of bitter traditional Chinese medicine in bronchial asthma

作者：Xinru Zhang, Xinru Zhang, Jiaqi Ma, Jiaqi Ma, An‐An Zhang, Jinmei Zhang, Dandan Hu, Fang Wang, Dandan Hu · 发表于：Journal of Asthma · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1080/02770903.2025.2552740 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques、Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies、Respiratory and Cough-Related Research

OBJECTIVE: This review explores recent advances in taste receptors type 2 (TAS2Rs) as potential therapeutic targets for bronchial asthma, focusing on the regulatory effects of bioactive compounds from bitter traditional Chinese medicines to provide new strategies for asthma prevention and treatment. METHODS: Relevant studies were identified through PubMed, including in vitro experiments, animal models, and clinical observations. Literature on the activation of TAS2Rs by bitter traditional Chinese medicine-derived compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, and terpenoids was analyzed, emphasizing mechanisms involving airway smooth muscle (ASM) relaxation, anti-inflammatory responses, and immune modulation. RESULTS: TAS2Rs are widely expressed in the respiratory tract. Their activation induces ASM relaxation, inhibits inflammatory factor release, and modulates immune responses. Bitter compounds like kudinoside A, baicalin, naringin, and artesunate act as TAS2R agonists, improving airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation. Some components, such as baicalin, can also regulate TAS2R expression at the gene transcription level. CONCLUSIONS: TAS2Rs regulate key respiratory processes, offering a new target for treating asthma and other respiratory diseases. Bitter traditional Chinese medicine bioactive compounds show anti-inflammatory and bronchodilatory effects by activating TAS2Rs, showing clinical promise. However, most of the related research is still in the basic research stage, ...