A family of proteins in the lungs may aid in the treatment of Covid-19

Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge, UK), with colleagues at Brown University and Providence Veterans’ Medical Center in Rhode Island, USA, for the first time identified bitter taste receptors commonly found in tongue, known as T2R is also present in the pulmonary vascular wall. These bitter taste receptors in the lungs are stimulated, which helps to protect the lining of blood vessels, called the endothelium.

This study, led by Dr Zsuzsanna Kertesz and Dr Havovi Chichger of Anglia Ruskin University, is published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.

“The most exciting thing is that by stimulating these proteins, they counteract fluid leakage. The new family of proteins in blood vessels could provide a new way to reduce fluid leakage into the lungs. Therefore, They will help us in the process of treating patients with respiratory failure, including Covid-19 patients,” said Dr. Havovi Chichger, Anglia Ruskin University.

Currently, more than 10% of patients in intensive care units worldwide have acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which has a mortality rate close to 40%. ARDS patients requiring ventilation due to pneumonia, major surgery, trauma, sepsis, and more recently Covid-19.

The researchers also found that the compounds phenylthiocarbamide and denatonium, the bitterest substances mentioned in the study above, act on the T2R38 and T2R10 bitter taste receptors, respectively. Once stimulated, the bitter taste receptors provide a protective mechanism for the blood vessel wall, preventing breakage and preventing fluid passage.

ARDS involves an excessive increase in pulmonary vascular permeability, which allows protein and fluid to enter the lungs causing pulmonary edema, commonly known as “water in the lungs”.

Thanh Thu (according to Medical News)