Journal of Clinical Medicine Article Expression of Taste Receptor 2 Subtypes in Human Testis and Sperm 1, 1, 1 1 1 Laura Governini y, Bianca Semplici y, Valentina Pavone , Laura Crifasi , Camilla Marrocco , Vincenzo De Leo 1, Elisabeth Arlt 2, Thomas Gudermann 2, Ingrid Boekhoff 2, Alice Luddi 1,* and Paola Piomboni 1 1 Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, Siena University, 53100 Siena, Italy;
[email protected] (L.G.);
[email protected] (B.S.);
[email protected] (V.P.);
[email protected] (L.C.);
[email protected] (C.M.);
[email protected] (V.D.L.);
[email protected] (P.P.) 2 Walther Straub Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, LMU Munich, 80336 Muenchen, Germany;
[email protected] (E.A.);
[email protected] (T.G.); ingrid.boekhoff@lrz.uni-muenchen.de (I.B.) * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +39-0577-233521 These authors contributed equally to this work. y Received: 13 December 2019; Accepted: 14 January 2020; Published: 18 January 2020 Abstract: Taste receptors (TASRs) are expressed not only in the oral cavity but also throughout the body, thus suggesting that they may play different roles in organ systems beyond the tongue. Recent studies showed the expression of several TASRs in mammalian testis and sperm, indicating an involvement of these receptors in male gametogenesis and fertility. This notion is supported by an impaired reproductive phenotype of mouse carrying targeted deletion of taste receptor genes, as well as by a significant correlation between human semen parameters and specific polymorphisms of taste receptor genes.