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Completed No phase listed Observational Accepts healthy volunteers

Allele-specific Expression of a Bitter Taste Receptor

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02766959

Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT02766959. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.

ClinicalTrials.gov public records Last synced Sep 6, 2026, 10:10 AM EDT

Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.

Official title

Bitter Taste and Allele-specific Expression of the Human TAS2R38 Gene

Brief summary

Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.

This single-site, within-subject experimental basic research study is designed to analyze the hypothesis that allele-specific expression of the bitter taste receptor T2R38 in taste tissue of individuals heterozygous for the taste receptor gene TAS2R38 correlates with that in nasal epithelium, and is responsible for differences in acyl-homoserine lactone-induced respiratory defenses. Subjects will include 100 predominantly European adults without chronic rhinosinusitis who will be undergoing a sinonasal procedure for reconstructive purposes. All subjects will provide saliva samples for genotyping, from which 25 subjects heterozygous for TAS2R38 (AVI/PAV) will be identified. These individuals will be asked to complete a beverage frequency questionnaire and taste test prior to the procedure that will evaluate for a number of compounds, among them bitter ligands specific to T2R38. Their tongue will also be photographed to evaluate the anatomy of their fungiform papillae, the mushroom-like structures on the tongue which contain taste buds. Subjects will subsequently provide nasal epithelium and taste tissue, which will be processed to 1) evaluate for allele-specific expression of TAS2R38 mRNA in both the taste and nasal tissue, with the nasal tissue concurrently being cultured in an air-liquid interface system to 2) assess the AHL-induced respiratory defenses of ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and nitric oxide (NO) production. Should subjects require a subsequent sinonasal procedure for clinically-determined reasons, taste and nasal tissue will again be obtained and analyzed for TAS2R38 mRNA, allowing for 3) longitudinal evaluation of mRNA expression level.

Study identification

NCT ID
NCT02766959
Recruitment status
Completed
Study type
Observational
Phase
Not listed
Enrollment
57 participants

Conditions and interventions

Conditions

Interventions

Other

Eligibility (public fields only)

Age range
21 Years to 50 Years
Sex
All
Healthy volunteers
Accepts healthy volunteers

This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.

Study timeline

Start date
Dec 31, 2015
Primary completion
Jul 31, 2017
Completion
Jul 31, 2018
Last update posted
Sep 17, 2018

2016 – 2018

United States locations

U.S. sites
3
U.S. states
1
U.S. cities
1
Facility City State ZIP Site status
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19104
Monell Chemical Senses Center Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19104
Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19104

Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.

About this trial record page

What this page shows
Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT02766959, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
What this page does not do
No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
Where the data comes from
Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
Last refresh
Last update posted Sep 17, 2018 · Synced Sep 6, 2026

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Open the official record

The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT02766959 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.

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