Characterization of Bitter Taste Receptor-Dependent Autophagy in Oral Epithelial Cells

Microbial dysbiosis is an important trigger in the development of oral diseases. Oral keratinocytes or gingival epithelial cells (GECs) offer protection against various microbial insults. Recent studies suggest that GECs expressed higher level of bitter taste receptor 14 (T2R14) compared to other taste receptors and toll-like receptors and act as innate immune sentinels. Macroautophagy or autophagy is a cellular conserved process involved in the regulation of host innate immune responses against microbial infection. Here, we describe a robust method for evaluation of T2R14-dependent autophagy flux in GECs. Autophagy flux was detected using Western blot analysis in GECs and further was confirmed using Acridine Orange-dependent flow cytometry analysis.