L’identification de PIEZO1 et PIEZO2 et les études cliniques associées ont permis de confirmer leur importance dans la physiologie humaine. Les travaux de recherche actuels du laboratoire Patapoutian, continuent d'explorer les rôles de la mécanosensation et de l'intéroception dans la physiologie et les maladies, mais aussi leur rôle dans la sensation en bouche lors de la dégustation.

45 min. de présentation en anglais et 15 min. d'échanges avec Ardem Patapoutian, biologiste moléculaire et neuroscientifique libano-américain à l'Institut de recherche Scripps en Californie, Prix Nobel Médecine 2021.

Abstract

Mechanotransduction was perhaps the last major sensory modality not understood at the molecular level. Proteins and ion channels that sense mechanical force are thought to play critical roles in touch and pain (somatosensation), sound (hearing), and shear stress (cardiovascular function), among others; however, the identity of the ion channels involved remained elusive. The Patapoutian lab identified PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, mechanically activated cation channels expressed in many mechanosensitive cell types. Genetic studies established that PIEZO2 is the principal mechanical transducer for touch, proprioception, bladder, and lung stretch, and that PIEZO1 mediates vascular development, iron homeostasis, bone density, and other physiological processes; together, PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 also contribute to baroreception  as well as parturition. Clinical investigations have confirmed the importance of these channels in human physiology. Current work in the Patapoutian lab continues to explore the roles of mechanosensation and interoception in physiology and disease, including its role in mouthfeel.