MRP1 was the most abundant of the MRP family members in RPE

erence for fat. The importance of CD36 can be further supported with the study of Pepino et al. who have shown that a single nucleotide polymorphism of CD36, leading to its inactivation, resulted in a decreased oral lipid taste perception in obese subjects. However, the intracellular mechanisms involved in decreased lipid taste sensitivity in taste bud cells remain to be explored. Several rodent models have been used to investigate the pathogenesis of obesity but they do not reflect the human disease sufficiently. Psammomys obesus, a desert gerbil, is a unique polygenic animal model for obesity and type 2 diabetes. These rodents Gustatory Perception and Calcium Signaling remain lean and free from diabetes in their native desert habitat, subsisting on a hypocaloric diet composed mainly of halophilic plants. When transferred to the laboratory and allowed free access to standard rodent chow, metabolic disturbances such as obesity, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia occur in P. obesus relative to their lean littermates,,. Diabetes development is very fast in these rodents. The animals reach the irreversible hypoinsulinemic stage of the disease, in which a marked reduction of b-cell mass is apparent, within 46 weeks of high caloric diet. Obesity development in P. obesus, accompanied by low liver glucose-6-phosphate hydrolysis, contributes to insulin resistant state, with a high lipogenic activity. Besides, we have recently demonstrated that obese P. obesus showed a hepatic deterioration which was accompanied by enhanced oxidative stress, further contributing to deleterious outcomes of insulin resistance. Hyperglycemia in these animals is reversible, except for the hypoinsulinemic end stage of the disease; normoglycemia could be obtained by limiting the caloric intake. However, the relationships between natural obesity and oro-sensory detection of dietary lipids in P. obesus are not yet known and deserve deep investigation. Keeping in view the afore-mentioned arguments, it was thought worthwhile to assess the impact of obesity on lipid taste perception and calcium signaling in CD36-positive taste bud cells isolated from circumvallate papillae of P. obesus. plants of chenopodiacae family, the laboratory diet is hypercaloric. If we compare 1 g of Salsola foetida with 1 g of laboratory diet, Salsola would furnish with 0.4 Kcal/g of fresh plant compared to the labortory chow which would provide with 3.25 Kcal/g. The laboratory diet contained the following: proteins 25%, lipids 7.5%, carbohydrates 47.4%, humidity/water 9%, fibers 4%, minerals 7.1%. The Salsola foetida contained the following: proteins 3.53%, lipids 0.4%, carbohydrates: 8.42%, humidity/water 80.79%, fibers 5.97%, minerals 6.86%. Food and water were supplied ad libitum except for the taste preference tests. All experimental procedures were approved by the Algerian Institutional Animal Care Committee which belongs National Administration of Algerian Higher Education and Scientific Research. The study was a part of a bilateral FrancoAlgerian collaborative project “Tassili”. The authorization to capture the animals in desert region was given 15595852 by the Ministry of Higher Education, Algeria. The animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation. Biochemical analysis Each 15340224 animal was monitored for body weight, blood glucose and insulin. For biochemical analysis, fasted animals were killed by cervical decapitation at the end of treatments, without MedChemExpress Neuromedin N anesthesia to avoid any further stress, and blood s