Joseph Brand

Associate Director & Member

Education

Ph.D., Biophysics; University of Rochester

Research Summary

The theme of my laboratory lies in defining the chemically mediated changes in taste cell transduction. Current projects of the laboratory include 1) cloning and characterization of ion channels from human and rodent taste tissue that are involved in sour and salty taste; 2) reconstitution of taste cell ion channels in lipid bilayers; 3) characterizing gene expression in individual taste cells; 4) defining the roles of inflammatory agents and neuromodulators in taste cells; 5) producing taste related proteins through tissue culture to study structure and function.

Keywords

taste, biophysics, molecular biology, signal transduction, human taste cells, lipid bilayers, single taste cell pcr, taste receptor genetics

Recent Publications

Huque, T., Cowart, B. J., Dankulich-Nagrudny, L., Pribitkin, E. A., Bayley, D. L., Spielman, A. I. et al. (2009). Sour ageusia in two individuals implicates ion channels of the ASIC and PKD families in human sour taste perception at the anterior tongue. PLoS.One., 4, e7347.

Li, X., Glaser, D., Li, W., Johnson, W. E., O’Brien, S. J., Beauchamp, G. K. et al. (2009). Analyses of sweet receptor gene (Tas1r2) and preference for sweet stimuli in species of Carnivora. Journal of Heredity, 100, S90-S100.

Wang, H., Zhou, M., Brand, J., & Huang, L. (2007). Inflammation activates the interferon signaling pathways in taste bud cells. Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 10703-10713.

Huang, L., Cao, J., Wang, H., Vo, L. A., & Brand, J. G. (2006). Identification and functional characterization of a voltage-gated chloride channel and its novel splice variant in taste bud cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 280, 36150-36157.

Li, X., Li, W., Wang, H., Bayley, D. L., Cao, J., Reed, D. R. et al. (2006). Cats lack a sweet taste receptor. Journal of Nutrition, 136 (7Suppl), 1932S-1934S.

Ozdener, M. H., Yee, K. K., Cao, J., Brand, J. G., Teeter, J. H., & Rawson, N. E. (2006). Characterization and long term maintenance of rat taste cells in culture. Chemical Senses 31, 279-290. 2-1-2006.

Kaulin, Y. A., Takemoto, J. Y., Schagina, L. V., Ostroumova, O. S., Wangspa, R., Teeter, J. H. et al. (2005). Sphingolipids influence the sensitivity of lipid bilayers to fungicide, syringomycin E. Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, 37, 339-399.

Li, X., Li, W., Wang, H., Cao, J., Maehashi, M., Huang, L. et al. (2005). Pseudogenization of a sweet receptor gene accounts for cats’ indifference toward sugar. PLoS Genetics, 1, e3.