Bortezomib alters sour taste sensitivity in mice

- Bortezomib administration increase sour taste sensitivity in mice.
- Protein expression of PKD2L1 increases in circumvallate papillae of bortezomib-administered mice.
- Increased sour taste sensitivity induced by bortezomib returned to the control level on cessation of its administration.

Chemotherapy-induced taste disorder is one of the critical issues in cancer therapy. Bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor, is a key agent in multiple myeloma therapy, but it induces a taste disorder. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of bortezomib-induced taste disorder and the underlying mechanism in mice. Among the five basic tastes, the sour taste sensitivity of mice was significantly increased by bortezomib administration. In bortezomib-administered mice, protein expression of PKD2L1 was increased. The increased sour taste sensitivity induced by bortezomib returned to the control level on cessation of its administration. These results suggest that an increase in protein expression of PKD2L1 enhances the sour taste sensitivity in bortezomib-administered mice, and this alteration is reversed on cessation of its administration.