# Potential role of glucagon like peptide 1 in taste receptors

**Authors:** Jose Luis Eduardo Doval-Caballero, Aldo Ferreira-Hermosillo, Genesis Dinora Eugenio-Ponce, Manuel Ramon García-Sáenz, Raúl Ibarra-Salce, Andrea Patricia Tenorio-Rojo, Eduardo Salif Luna-Avila, Paulo César Gete-Palacios, Fernando Pérez-Hernández, Eduardo Rojas-Milán, Luis Angel López-Cruz, César Alejandro Méndez-Hernández

PMC · DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1683419 · Frontiers in Endocrinology · 2026-01-23

## TL;DR

This paper explores how hormones like glucagon-like peptide-1 influence taste perception and how this connects to appetite and eating behavior.

## Contribution

It highlights the novel role of gut-brain-taste interactions in modulating taste receptor function and feeding behavior.

## Key findings

- Glucagon-like peptide-1 and other hormones influence taste receptor expression and function.
- Metabolic conditions like obesity alter taste preferences through hormonal and neurotransmitter changes.
- Taste perception is linked to reward circuits and homeostatic mechanisms via neuromodulators.

## Abstract

The perception of taste is a complex physiological process that extends far beyond the simple detection of flavor molecules, serving as a critical interface between nutrient sensing, metabolic regulation, and feeding behavior. Emerging evidence reveals that this process is profoundly modulated by endocrine and neuromodulatory systems, creating a sophisticated gut-brain-taste axis that integrates peripheral gustatory signals with central homeostatic and hedonic mechanisms. Hormones such as glucagon-like peptide-1, leptin, ghrelin, and CCK not only regulate appetite and energy balance but also directly influence taste receptor expression and function in the tongue and gastrointestinal tract. Concurrently, neuromodulators like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine fine-tune taste sensitivity at both peripheral (taste buds) and central (reward circuitry) levels, linking chemosensation to motivational states. These interactions are further complicated by metabolic conditions such as obesity and diabetes, where hormonal resistance (e.g., leptin, insulin) and neurotransmitter dysregulation contribute to altered taste preferences and compulsive eating behaviors.

## Linked entities

- **Proteins:** lepa (leptin a), GHRL (ghrelin and obestatin prepropeptide), CCK (cholecystokinin)
- **Diseases:** obesity (MONDO:0011122), diabetes (MONDO:0005015)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** LEP (leptin) [NCBI Gene 3952] {aka LEPD, OB, OBS}, CCK (cholecystokinin) [NCBI Gene 885], GCG (glucagon) [NCBI Gene 2641] {aka GLP-1, GLP1, GLP2, GRPP}, INS (insulin) [NCBI Gene 3630] {aka IDDM, IDDM1, IDDM2, ILPR, IRDN, MODY10}
- **Diseases:** compulsive eating behaviors (MESH:D000073932), obesity (MESH:D009765), diabetes (MESH:D003920)
- **Chemicals:** dopamine (MESH:D004298), serotonin (MESH:D012701), norepinephrine (MESH:D009638)

## Full text

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## Figures

3 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12875943/full.md

## References

182 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12875943/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12875943