Transduction mechanism(s) of Na-saccharin in the blowfly Protophormia terraenovae: evidence for potassium and calcium conductance involvement

The study on transduction mechanisms underlying bitter stimuli is a particularly intriguing challenge for taste researchers. The present study investigates, in the labellar chemosensilla of the blowfly Protophormia terraenovae, the transduction mechanism by which saccharin evokes the response of the “deterrent” cell, with particular attention to the contribution of K⁺ and Ca²⁺ current and the role of cyclic nucleotides, since second messengers modulate Ca²⁺, Cl⁻ and K⁺ currents to different extents. As assessed by extracellular single-sensillum recordings, our results show that the addition of a Ca²⁺ chelator such as EGTA or the Ca²⁺ current blockers SK&F-96365, Mibefradil, Nifedipine and W-7 decrease the response of the “deterrent” cell to saccharin. A similar decreasing effect was also obtained following the addition of 4-aminopyridine, a K⁺ current blocker. On the contrary, the membrane-permeable cyclic nucleotide 8-bromoguanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (8Br-cGMP) activates this cell and shows an additive effect when presented mixed with saccharin. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that in the labellar chemosensilla of the blowfly both Ca²⁺ and K⁺ ions are involved in the transduction mechanism of the “deterrent” cell in response to saccharin. Our results also suggest a possible pathway common to saccharin and 8Br-cGMP.