Microbiota-Dependent Upregulation of Bitter Taste Receptor Subtypes in the Mouse Large Intestine in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity

Bitter taste receptors (Tas2rs in mice) detect bitterness, a warning signal for toxins and poisons, and are expressed in enteroendocrine cells. We tested the hypothesis that Tas2r138 and Tas2r116 mRNAs are modulated by microbiota alterations induced by a long-term high-fat diet (HFD) and antibiotics (ABX) (ampicillin and neomycin) administered in drinking water. Cecum and colon specimens and luminal contents were collected from C57BL/6 female and male mice for qRT-PCR and microbial luminal 16S sequencing. HFD with/without ABX significantly increased body weight and fat mass at 4, 6, and 8 weeks. Tas2r138 and Tas2r116 mRNAs were significantly increased in mice fed HFD for 8 weeks vs. normal diet, and this increase was prevented by ABX. There was a distinct microbiota separation in each experimental group and significant changes in the composition and diversity of microbiome in mice fed a HFD with/without ABX. Tas2r mRNA expression in HFD was associated with several genera, particularly with Akkermansia, a Gram-negative mucus-resident bacterium. These studies indicate that luminal bacterial composition is affected by sex, diet, and ABX and support a microbial dependent upregulation of Tas2rs in HFD-induced obesity, suggesting an adaptive host response to specific diet-induced dysbiosis.