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TASTE GENE MAY PLAY ROLE IN SMOKING
22 February 2006 - University of Wisconsin-Madison
| Recent research on the genetics of smoking has focused on genes that are thought to be related to nicotine metabolism, personality traits, and regulation of emotions. According to a genetic study just published in "Nicotine and Tobacco Research," genes responsible for taste also may yield important information about who smokes and why they smoke. |
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Utah wanted to determine if a "bitterness" gene-phenylthiocarbamide-was related to smoking status and how important the taste of cigarettes is to a smoker. As predicted, those smokers who possessed less sensitivity to bitter taste were more likely to rate taste as a strong reason for smoking, and those who were sensitive to bitter taste were less likely to smoke for taste. A surprising result, which must be replicated for scientific accuracy, was the discovery that smokers with a different, less common genetic variant for taste were the least likely to smoke. "Nicotine dependence is likely to be the result of many genes and complex environmental effects," said Dale Cannon with the University of Utah, lead author of the study. "What this study tells us is that genetic factors involving the taste of cigarettes should be examined as part of the analysis of nicotine dependence." Included in the study, conducted in Milwaukee by the University of Wisconsin, were 384 smokers enrolled in a smoking cessation study and 183 controls recruited to donate blood samples. Researchers from Utah examined the blood samples collected from these participants for the PTC gene's two most common sets of alleles-PAV and AVI, named for the amino acids at their three genetic-pair locations. People with only PAV are most sensitive to bitter taste, while those with only AVI are less sensitive. AVI "non-tasters" were more likely than the PAV "tasters" to smoke for the taste of cigarettes. A third group, people with the less common "intermediate taster" type, were the least likely to smoke-20 percent less likely. Researchers used the the Wisconsin Index of Smoking Dependence Motives, to compare taste ratings with genetic analyses. "We found a significant difference in the motivation to smoke for the taste of cigarettes between those who perceived bitter taste and those who didn't," said Timothy Baker, a UW-Madison psychologist and one of the study's authors. "We also found the ratings of 'cues' (sights and smells that trigger urges to smoke) higher among those who were not bitter-tasters." What researchers did not find is any gender differences in tasting bitterness and smoking. Further research is planned into genetic influences on smoking. The UW-Madison Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center is one of seven centers funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to investigate new ways of combating tobacco use and nicotine addiction, using an innovative, integrated approach.
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About: University of Wisconsin-Madison
In achievement and prestige, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has long been recognized as one of America’s great universities. A public, land-grant institution, UW-Madison offers a complete spectrum of liberal arts studies, professional programs and student activities. Many of its programs are hailed as world leaders in instruction, research and public service.The university traces its roots to a clause in the Wisconsin Constitution, which decreed that the state should have a prominent public university. In 1848, Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin’s first governor, signed the act that formally created the university, and its first class, with 17 students, met in a Madison school building on February 5, 1849. From those humble beginnings, the university has grown into a large, diverse community, with about 40,000 students enrolled each year. These students represent every state in the nation, as well as countries from around the globe, making for a truly international population. UW-Madison is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Wisconsin System, a statewide network of 13 comprehensive universities, 13 freshman-sophomore transfer colleges and an extension service. One of two doctorate-granting universities in the system, UW-Madison’s specific mission is to provide "a learning environment in which faculty, staff and students can discover, examine critically, preserve and transmit the knowledge, wisdom and values that will help insure the survival of this and future generations and improve the quality of life for all." The university achieves these ends through innovative programs of research, teaching and public service. Throughout its history, UW-Madison has sought to bring the power of learning into the daily lives of its students through innovations such as residential learning communities and service-learning opportunities. Students also participate freely in research, which has led to life-improving inventions from more fuel-efficient engines to cutting-edge genetic therapies. Students, faculty and staff are motivated by a tradition known as the "Wisconsin Idea," described by UW President Charles Van Hise in 1904 as the compelling need to carry "the beneficent influence of the university ... to every home in the state." The Wisconsin Idea permeates the university’s work and helps forge close working relationships among university faculty and students and the state’s industries and government. |
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