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Molecular mechanism of the bitter taste of HIV/AIDS drugs and its inhibition

Award Number: R21DC020136
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/01/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2026

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Molecular mechanism of the bitter taste of HIV/AIDS drugs and its inhibition - Project Summary: The goal of this research proposal is to understand the molecular basis of blocking bitter taste for HIV/AIDS drugs so that their often unpleasant bitter taste can be eliminated. Some drugs have a strong bitter taste, which makes it a challenging task for patients to take them, especially for infants and young children. Because many children cannot swallow pills, pediatric medicines usually come in liquid or syrup form, which frequently taste bitter and is very difficult to mask, even in flavored liquid formulations. It has been reported that when children refuse to take the bitter-tasting HIV/AIDS drugs, and do not get the proper dosage of their drugs, they can develop resistance to the drugs, which has serious consequences for their health. Therefore, there is a need to develop bitter taste blockers to mask the unpleasant taste of HIV/AIDS drugs. Understanding the mechanism of bitter-tasting drug-induced TAS2R receptor activation is likely to lead to discovering bitter taste blockers, which could be used to mask the unpleasant taste of HIV/AIDS drugs. In this proposal, we have developed testable models of the HIV/AIDS drug- TAS2R receptors by computational approaches and our plan is to test them experimentally. Moreover, using structure-based drug design and organic synthesis we aim to discover novel human TAS2R specific blockers to mask the unpleasant bitter taste of different HIV/AIDS drugs.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2023	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	360 HUNTINGTON AVE	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	2	6/11/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $235,500 )
2023	2023	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	360 HUNTINGTON AVE	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	2	6/16/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$235,500
														Subtotal = $235,500

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $196,250 )
2022	2022	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	360 HUNTINGTON AVE	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	6/30/2022	NEW	$196,250
														Subtotal = $196,250

Grand Total All Awards = $431,750

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Molecular mechanism of the bitter taste of HIV/AIDS drugs and its inhibition

Award Number: R21DC020136

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/01/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2026

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