Recent findings indicate that Type 2 taste receptors (T2Rs) are expressed outside the gustatory system, including in the gastrointestinal tracts and the exocrine glands, such as the submandibular (SM), parotid (P), lacrimal (L) glands and pancreas (PC). Specifically, T2Rs are found in some of the gastrointestinal endocrine cells, and these cells secreted peptide hormones in response to stimulation by bitter-tasting compounds. The results show that T2Rs may have significant physiological roles besides bitter taste reception. The functions of the T2Rs in the exocrine glands remain poorly understood. An expression levels analysis of T2Rs will help to determine those functions in the exocrine glands. The expression levels of the T2Rs in the exocrine glands were discovered via the qPCR. C57BL/6J mice of 42~60-day-old were used. Messenger RNAs were extracted from S, P, L and PC. Cloned DNAs were synthesized by reverse transcription. Quantitative PCRs were performed using the SYBR Green method. The expression levels of the T2Rs were calculated as relative expression levels to that of the GAPDH. The statistical significance among the observed exocrine glands was tested using the variance analysis (ANOVA test). Tas2r108, out of murine 35 T2Rs, was the most highly expressed in every observed exocrine gland. This finding was similar to previous results from tongue papillae, but the expression levels were lower than those of the tongue papillae. Tas2r137 of SM, P, L and PC were expressed a little lower than that of tongue papillae. The T2Rs in the exocrine glands may play slightly different roles from those in the tongue. We suggest that physiological studies such as a patch clamp and functional Ca2+ imaging of acinar cells are necessary for understanding the Tas2r108 functions.

서 론
 재료 및 방법
  실험동물
  외분비선 분리
  RNA 준비
  cDNA 합성
  Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)
  데이터 분석
 결 과
  1형 미각 수용체
  2형 미각 수용체
 고 찰
 Acknowledgements
 References

• Su-Young Ki(Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, college of Dentistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University)
• Young-Kyung Cho(Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, college of Dentistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Research Institute of Oral Sciences, Gangneung-Wonju National University)
• Ki-Myung Chung(Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, college of Dentistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Research Institute of Oral Sciences, Gangneung-Wonju National University)
• Kyung-Nyun Kim(Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, college of Dentistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Research Institute of Oral Sciences, Gangneung-Wonju National University) Correspondence to