Affiliations
Associate Member, Monell Chemical Senses Center
Education
Ph.D., Neurobiology; University of Pittsburgh
Representative Summary
The research in my lab aims to: 1) identify and characterize adult taste stem cells, with a focus on the mechanisms supporting taste tissue homeostasis; 2) understand how the taste and gut systems adapt to dietary nutrients and infectious agents; 3) understand the relationship between taste receptor function and an animal’s feeding ecology. We use a variety of approaches to address these questions, including lineage tracing, organoid culture, virus production, cell-based assays, surgical models, genetically engineered mouse models, RNAseq, and routine molecular biology and cell culture techniques.
Keywords
Taste receptor, taste preferences, feeding behavior, carbohydrate metabolism, adult stem cells
Recent Publications
Erik Schwiebert, Yi Wang, Ranhui Xi, Katarzyna Choma, John Streiff, Linda J. Flammer, Natasha Rivers, Mehmet Hakan Ozdener, Robert F. Margolskee, Carol M. Christensen, Nancy E. Rawson, Peihua Jiang and Paul A. S. Breslin (2021) 6-Methylflavone blocks bitterness of tenofovir. Molecular Pharmacology 99 (5) 319-327; https://doi.org/10.1124/molpharm.120.000071
Wang. Y., Zajac, A., Lei W, Christensen, C.M., Margolskee, R.F., Bouysset, C., Golebiowski, J., Zhao, H., Fiorucci, S., Jiang, P. (2019). Metal ions activate the human taste receptor TAS2R7. Chemical Senses. 44: 339-347.
Lei, W., Ren, W., Ohmoto, M., Urban, J.F.Jr., Matsumoto, I., Margolskee, R.F., and Jiang, P. (2018). Activation of intestinal tuft cell-expressed Sucnr1 triggers type 2 immunity in the mouse small intestine. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 115: 5552-5557
Ren, W., Aihara, E., Lei, W., Gheewala, N., Uchiyama, H., Margolskee, R.F., Iwatsuki, K., and Jiang, P. (2017). Transcriptome analyses of taste organoids reveal multiple pathways involved in taste cell generation. Scientific Reports. 7: 4004.
Ren. W., Lewandowski, B.C., Watson, J., Iwatsuki, K., Bachmanov, A.A., Margolskee, R.F., Jiang, P. (2014) Single Lgr5- or Lgr6-expressing taste stem cells generate taste bud cells ex vivo. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 111: 16401-16406.
Yee, K.K., Li, Y., Redding, K.M., Iwatsuki, K., Margolskee, R.F., Jiang, P. (2013) Lgr5-EGFP marks taste bud stem/progenitor cells in posterior tongue. Stem Cells. 31: 992-1000.
Jiang, P.; Josue, J.; Li, X.; Glaser, D.; et al. (2012) Major taste loss in carnivorous mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 109: 4956-4961.
