Kurzprofil Dr. Rita dos Santos Natividade

The impact of poor diet on global health is alarming. One critical factor in food choice is the texture and its sensory experience, known as mouthfeel. Recent studies suggest that mouthfeel is mainly activated by mechanosensitive channels and receptors present in the oral cavity. However, oral texture perception remains poorly understood.

In order to gain insight into physiological properties of oral texture perception, biophysical approaches can be taken that offer unique opportunities to study the mechanisms of mouthfeel at cellular and molecular levels. The aim is to uncover sensory key players such as (mechano)receptors that transduce textural features of foods into mouthfeel, as well as the role of potential food-derived ligands that influence mouthfeel.

The gained scientific knowledge could improve our understanding of oral texture perception, which allows for the creation of healthier foods while maintaining sensory qualities and consumer acceptance.

Uncovering the mechano- and chemosensory role of receptors involved in texture perception (mouthfeel), using mainly atomic force microscopy.

Shang, P., dos Santos Natividade, R., Taylor, G. M., Ray, A., Welsh, O. L., Fiske, K. L., ... & Dermody, T. S. (2024). NRP1 is a receptor for mammalian orthoreovirus engaged by distinct capsid subunits. Cell Host & Microbe.

Sutherland, D. M., Strebl, M., Koehler, M., Welsh, O. L., Yu, X., Hu, L., ... & Dermody, T. S. (2023). NgR1 binding to reovirus reveals an unusual bivalent interaction and a new viral attachment protein. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(24), e2219404120.

dos Santos Natividade, R., Koehler, M., Gomes, P. S., Simpson, J. D., Smith, S. C., Gomes, D. E., ... & Alsteens, D. (2023). Deciphering molecular mechanisms stabilizing the reovirus-binding complex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(21), e2220741120.