Time-course analysis of acute binge ethanol administration on lingual taste receptor expression, taste bud density, and inflammatory markers

Taste influences food preferences and dietary choices, which in turn can lead to changes in nutritional status and metabolic health. Understanding factors that contribute to taste dysfunction may elucidate mechanisms that lead to metabolic disease (e.g. obesity, diabetes). Ethanol is a commonly consumed substance that has been associated with alterations in food intake and food preferences and has been shown to promote systemic inflammation. Previous studies suggest that inflammation of the taste buds may mediate taste dysfunction. We hypothesized that ethanol may affect food preference and intake by altering lingual taste receptor expression, taste bud density, and inflammatory signaling. Male C57/Bl6 mice were administered a single bolus of ethanol (5 g/kg) or saline via gavage, and tongues were collected at 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 hours post-administration. The circumvallate papillae were excised for qPCR analysis of CD36 (fat), T1R2 (sweet), T1R3 (sweet) and T2R138 (bitter) taste receptor mRNA and the mRNA expression of inflammatory markers, TNFα and CCL2. The anterior tongue was collected and stained with 0.5% methylene blue for fungiform papillae quantification using ImageJ. Acute ethanol administration significantly increased lingual TNFα expression at 3 hours (p< .0001), indicating a transient inflammatory response, and led to the upregulation of lingual CD36 (fat) mRNA levels (p < .01) at 3 hours post-administration. Acute binge ethanol administration did not alter T2R138 (bitter), T1R3 (sweet), T1R2 (sweet) or CCL2 mRNA expression. Fungiform papillae density was significantly decreased 3 hours following ethanol administration (p < .001). These data support a role for acute ethanol to directly impact taste circuitry by altering lingual expression of genes associated with fat taste and inflammatory signaling and taste bud density. Altering taste perception and sensitivity can have profound effects on food preferences, which can predict dietary choices, leading to nutritional and metabolic consequences. Results of the current study suggest that timing of an acute ethanol binge has a unique effect on the number of fungiform papillae and the expression of CD36 and TNFα on the circumvallate papillae. AA028300 to JP and LSUHSC to SDP, JP This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.