Molecular Mechanisms of Taste Disorder in Oxaliplatin-administered Rats

Taste disorder is one of the adverse effects of cancer chemotherapy resulting in a loss of appetite, leading to malnutrition and a decrease in the quality of life of the patient. Oxaliplatin, a platinum anticancer drug, has a critical role in colon cancer chemotherapy and is known to induce taste disorder. Here, we evaluated the taste functions in oxaliplatin-administered rats. Among the taste receptors, expression levels of T1R2, one of the sweet receptor subunits, increased in the circumvallate papillae of the oxaliplatin-administered rats. In a brief-access test, i.e., behavioral analysis of the taste response, oxaliplatin-administered rats showed a decreased response to sweet taste. However, we did not detect any differences in the plasma levels of zinc, number of taste cells, or morphology of taste buds between control and oxaliplatin-administered rats. In conclusion, the decreased response to sweet taste by oxaliplatin administration may be due to the upregulation of T1R2 expression.