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3997054 
Journal Article 
Heightened avidity for trisodium pyrophosphate in mice lacking Tas1r3 
Tordoff, MG; Aleman, TR; Mccaughey, SA 
2015 
Yes 
Chemical Senses
ISSN: 0379-864X
EISSN: 1464-3553 
40 
1 
53-59 
English 
25452580 
WOS:000347418800006 
Laboratory rats and mice prefer some concentrations of tri- and tetrasodium pyrophosphate (Na3HP2O7 and Na4P2O7) to water, but how they detect pyrophosphates is unknown. Here, we assessed whether T1R3 is involved. We found that relative to wild-type littermate controls, Tas1r3 knockout mice had stronger preferences for 5.6-56mM Na3HP2O7 in 2-bottle choice tests, and they licked more 17.8-56mM Na3HP2O7 in brief-access tests. We hypothesize that pyrophosphate taste in the intact mouse involves 2 receptors: T1R3 to produce a hedonically negative signal and an unknown G protein-coupled receptor to produce a hedonically positive signal; in Tas1r3 knockout mice, the hedonically negative signal produced by T1R3 is absent, leading to a heightened avidity for pyrophosphate.