User as a bitter tastant: Immersive experience within the binding region of a bitter taste receptor

This paper describes the development of a Virtual Reality (VR) system to obtain mechanistic insights into receptor-ligand interactions from the perspective of a bitter taste. The system allows a human-user to "become" the tastant-ligand and interact with the bitter taste receptor in its binding region. Computational models of 15 bitter taste receptors were developed. Each model provides a comprehensive view of the varied structural and functional features of the bitter taste receptor. The user can obtain a view of the receptor protein model at a) the atomic level; b) the secondary structure; and, c) the surface. The system can be accessed by using a VR headset as well as through touch controllers. Users can navigate among and compare 3D models of the selected receptors, while also experiencing environmental feedback. The implications of such a study are critical to the field of drug-design in the clinical-pharmaceutical industry. Five domain-expert scientists and clinicians evaluated the usability of the VR system. Our work also represents an important educational tool.