Absinthin, an agonist of the bitter taste receptor hTAS2R46, uncovers an ER-to-mitochondria Ca²⁺-shuttling event.

Type 2 taste receptors (TAS2R) are G protein-coupled receptors first described in the gustatory system, but have also been shown to have extraoral localizations, including airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells, in which TAS2R have been reported to induce relaxation. TAS2R46 is an unexplored subtype that responds to its highly specific agonist absinthin. Here, we first demonstrate that, unlike other bitter-taste receptor agonists, absinthin alone (1 μm) in ASM cells does not induce Ca²⁺ signals but reduces histamine-induced cytosolic Ca²⁺ increases. To investigate this mechanism, we introduced into ASM cells aequorin-based Ca²⁺ probes targeted to the cytosol, subplasma membrane domain, or the mitochondrial matrix. We show that absinthin reduces cytosolic histamine-induced Ca²⁺ rises and simultaneously increases Ca²⁺ influx into mitochondria. We found that this effect is inhibited by the potent human TAS2R46 (hTAS2R46) antagonist 3β-hydroxydihydrocostunolide and is no longer evident in hTAS2R46-silenced ASM cells, indicating that it is hTAS2R46-dependent. Furthermore, these changes were sensitive to the mitochondrial uncoupler carbonyl cyanide p-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl-hydrazone (FCCP); the mitochondrial calcium uniporter inhibitor KB-R7943 (carbamimidothioic acid); the cytoskeletal disrupter latrunculin; and an inhibitor of the exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (EPAC), ESI-09. Similarly, the β2 agonist salbutamol also could induce Ca²⁺ shuttling from cytoplasm to mitochondria, suggesting that this new mechanism might be generalizable. Moreover, forskolin and an EPAC activator mimicked this effect in HeLa cells. Our findings support the hypothesis that plasma membrane receptors can positively regulate mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uptake, adding a further facet to the ability of cells to encode complex Ca²⁺ signals.

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