Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Taste Buds”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 865 records · Page 48Linked to original sources

Salt taste transduction occurs through an amiloride-sensitive sodium transport pathway.

An important early event in mammalian gustatory transduction with respect to sodium chloride has been found to be the passage of sodium ions through specific transport pathways in the apical region of the taste bud. The inward current caused by sodium chloride placed on the mucosal surface of an in vitro preparation of rat dorsal lingual epithelium can be substantially reduced by the blocker of sodium ion transport, amiloride. The data show (i) that amiloride is a specific blocker of the chorda tympani response to sodium chloride, but not to potassium chloride, (ii) that the sodium and potassium gustatory systems are largely independent at the peripheral level, and (iii) that the classical ion taste "receptor" is actually a specific transport pathway permitting the cation to enter the taste-bud cell and thereby to spread depolarizing current.

Amiloride↗

High-affinity cAMP phosphodiesterase and adenosine localized in sensory organs.

Odorant-stimulated formation of cAMP in olfactory receptor neurons may mediate olfactory signal transduction. The response is short and desensitization occurs rapidly, possibly by induction of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity. Previously, we showed that two low Km PDEs regulate hydrolysis of cAMP in olfactory cilia. One PDE is Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent and non-selective for both cAMP-PDE and cGMP; the other is Ca2+/calmodulin-independent, sensitive to rolipram and selective for cAMP. We have localized cAMP-selective PDE in olfactory, gustatory and retinal sensory systems by autoradiography with the selective inhibitor [3H]rolipram. We observe dense binding over olfactory neurons, particularly over olfactory nerve bundles and olfactory cilia. In the tongue apical regions of taste buds of the circumvallate papillae are strongly labeled as well as portions of the glossopharyngeal nerve. Retinal binding is most dense over the inner plexiform layer, ganglion cells and the optic nerve but is also substantial over the inner nuclear layer. The pattern of [3H]rolipram-binding in retina is reminiscent of adenosine localization. Accordingly, adenosine was immunohistochemically localized in olfactory, gustatory and retinal tissues. Adenosine immunoreactivity is observed in olfactory neurons, in the basal regions of taste buds and in retinal ganglion cells.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗

The riddle of L-glucose pentaacetate insulinotropic action (review).

The two anomers of L-glucose pentaacetate were recently found to stimulate insulin release. The insulinotropic action of these esters cannot be attributed to the catabolism in islet cells of their glucidic or acetic moieties. The present review deals with an alternative hypothesis. It is proposed that L-glucose pentaacetate itself directly interacts with a yet unidentified receptor leading to plasma membrane depolarization, induction of electrical activity and increase in the cytosolic concentration of ionized Ca2+. This process displays analogies with the identification of bitter compounds by taste buds. Thus, beta-L-glucose pentaacetate indeed displays a bitter, but no sweet, taste. Purified islet B-cells contain the alpha-gustducin G-protein involved in the perception of bitter taste by taste buds. The pentaacetate ester of beta-L-glucose decreases 86Rb outflow from prelabelled islets, provokes bioelectrical activity in islet B-cells and may induce oscillations of cytosolic Ca2+ in these insulin-producing cells. The effects of beta-L-glucose pentaacetate upon glucagon and somatostatin secretion by the isolated perfused pancreas are also compatible with the present hypothesis. It is proposed that the L-glucose pentaacetate anomers could be used as novel insulinotropic tools in the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Animals↗

Morpho-histology of the alimentary canal of an Indian fresh-water perch, Colisa fasciata (Bloch) in relation to food and feeding habits.

The morpho-histology of the alimentary canal in an Indian freshwater perch, Colisa fasciata (Bloch) in relation to food and feeding habits has been described. C. fasciata is an omnivorous, mid-feeder. The mouth is protractile. The alimentary canal comprises the lip, buccal cavity, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, pyloric caeca, a long and coiled intestine and the rectum. The teeth on the roof and floor of the buccal cavity, jaw teeth, pharyngeal teeth and horny pad teeth are all adapted to the nature of the food ingested. The nature and disposition of taste-buds and mucous cells on the lips suggests that the fish is a taste-feeder. The presence of taste-buds in the anterior oesophagus indicates that the gustatory sense extends upto the oesophagus. The stomach is divided into the cardiac and pyloric regions. The surface epithelium of the cardiac stomach secretes mucous and the glandular epithelium contains numerous gastric glands. The pyloric caeca are paired. The intestine is divided into anterior, middle and posterior regions. The R.L.G. (relative length of the gut) varies from 4--5. Mucosal folds are simple.

Animals↗

The taste system of the channel catfish: from biophysics to behavior.

Catfish, described as 'swimming tongues', are unique experimental models for studies of taste reception because of the extensive distribution of taste buds over their external body surface and within their oropharyngeal cavity. Both the extraordinary numbers of taste buds and their high sensitivity to amino acids have made it possible to perform in the same species: biochemical and biophysical studies of stimulus recognition and signal transduction; electrophysiological recordings of taste activity from receptor cells, afferent nerve fibers and CNS relays; and behavioral studies of taste-controlled food search, biting and mastication. The close correspondence of results obtained with these diverse experimental approaches has provided critical information concerning vertebrate gustation.

Amino Acids↗

Taste cells in the gut and on the tongue. Their common, paraneuronal features.

Chemoreception of foodstuff in the gut is performed by endocrine cells dispersed in the gut epithelium. They are bipolar cells extending an apical process to the gut lumen and releasing their messenger substances from the cell base in response to the apical stimuli. The cells share cell-biological features with neurons and are classified as paraneurons. Noteworthy, the gut paraneurons do not seem to be stimulated by monosodium glutamate (MSG) as our dog experiment indicates. Administration of 50 mM MSG into the duodenal loop of anesthetized dogs did not cause changes in the volume and protein output in the pancreatic juice. The gustatory cells in the taste bud show essentially the same structure and function as the gut endocrine cells. A single gustatory cell type (type III) seems to receive different chemical stimuli, whereas different endocrine cell types in the gut react to different stimuli. The gustatory cells possess numerous peptidergic-type granules besides synapse-associated small clear vesicles. The former granules, in the guinea pig and dog, are abundant in the cytoplasm, giving an endocrine-like appearance to the cell. Peptidic signal substances contained in the granules remain to be identified. Comparison of the gustatory cells in the taste bud with the endocrine cells in the gut and with other paraneurons may put into front certain hitherto unexplored structures and functions of the cells.

Animals↗

Stereo architecture of the lamina propria in the mouse laryngopharynx in scanning electron microscopy.

In the ventral wall of the mouse laryngopharynx, a fairly large number of the epithelial papillae containing taste bud (provisionally denominated the pharyngeal papillae) were observed. The NaOH cellmaceration method was applied in order to demonstrate the stereo architecture of the connective tissue papillae (CTP) of the pharyngeal papillae. The CTP appeared as a cylindrical wall surrounding a round depression, and consisted of a delicate meshwork of collagen fibrils. It is suggested that the CTP constitute the skeletal framework of the pharyngeal papillae and that the round depression corresponds to the site of taste bud. Furthermore, the collagen fibrillar architecture in the extrapapillary region appeared to be arranged to meet specific functional needs. That is, in the rostral end of the laryngopharynx, the collagen fibrils ran solitarily to form a coarse meshwork and seemed to allow the epithelium a certain degree of freedom of motion in swallowing. On the other hand, in the caudal part the fibrils concentrated into the thick bundles of the fibers running side by side along the long axis of the laryngopharynx and, therefore, appeared to play an important role in resisting the excessive stretching force.

Animals↗

Changes in IP3 and cytosolic Ca2+ in response to sugars and non-sugar sweeteners in transduction of sweet taste in the rat.

1. The transduction pathways of sweet-sensitive cells in rat circumvallate (CV) taste buds were investigated with assays for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and with Ca2+ imaging. Stimulation with the non-sugar sweeteners SC-45647 and saccharin rapidly increased the cellular content of IP3 by 400 pmol (mg protein)-1, while sucrose had a much smaller effect on IP3. As shown previously, sucrose, but not saccharin, increased the content of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) of this preparation. 2. Stimulation of isolated CV taste buds with SC-45647 increased the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) by 56.7 +/- 3.2 nM (n = 181). Due to the non-confocality of the measuring system, these concentrations are underestimates. The increase in [Ca2+]i did not require the presence of extracellular Ca2+, suggesting that the Ca2+ release was from intracellular stores. 3. Individual cells responding to the non-sugar sweeteners with Ca2+ release also responded to sucrose and to forskolin with an increase in [Ca2+]i. Such cells did not respond to the bitter tastant denatonium chloride. 4. Responses to sucrose were abolished by lowering the Ca2+ concentration of the stimulus solution, indicating Ca2+ uptake from the extracellular medium. 5. The responses of sweet-sensitive cells to forskolin were also abolished when Ca2+ ions were omitted from the stimulus solution. They were partially inhibited by the presence of Co2+, Ni2+, D600 (methoxyverapamil) and amiloride, indicating multiple pathways of Ca2+ uptake activated by cAMP. 6. In conclusion, a sweet-sensitive cell of the rat responds to sucrose with an increase in cAMP and Ca2+ uptake, but to non-sugar sweeteners with an increase in IP3 and Ca2+ release. The increase in [Ca2+]i, common to both pathways, is presumably required for synaptic exocytosis and for signal termination.

Amiloride↗

[Comparative anatomo-microscopic observations on the esophagus of teleosts with different feeding habits].

The authors describe the micro-anatomy of the oesophagus of different diet fish: herbivorous (Boops salpa), omnivorous (Liza aurata) and carnivorous fish (Blennius gattorugine and Gaidropsarus mediterraneus). In all the observed species the oesophagus is formed by a tunica mucosa, tunica muscularis and tunica serosa. The tunica mucosa of the herbivorous fish arises to form thin plicae which protrude into the lumen and are covered with squamous stratified epithelium. The goblet cells do not arrange among the covering cells but take place laterally and on the basis of the plicae. The tunica muscularis is constituted by an external circular layer and an inner longitudinal layer of striated muscle. The oesophagus of omnivorous fish shows thick plicae covered with a higher epithelium than that of the herbivorous fish. Among the epithelial cells a lot of taste buds have been found. The tunica muscularis is like that of the herbivorous fish. In the carnivorous fish Blennius the tunica mucosa presents thin plicae like those of the herbivorous fish but they are covered with a thicker epithelium. The tunica muscularis is formed by an external circular layer and by an inner longitudinal layer which constitutes two diametrically opposed bundles placed dorsally and ventrally. In the other carnivorous fish Gaidropsarus, the tunica mucosa shows very thick plicae covered with a quite high squamous epithelium among which there are many goblet cells. In this fish too numerous taste buds have been found. The tunica muscularis is arranged in the same manner observed in the other carnivorous fish.

Animals↗

STG does not associate with psoriasis in the Swedish population.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that is known to have a strong genetic predisposition. Several psoriasis-susceptibility loci have been previously found through genomic scans. Of these, psoriasis-susceptibility region 1 (PSORS1) on chromosome 6p21 remains the most consistently identified region across populations with the highest association with disease. STG is a gene that was previously isolated from rhesus monkey taste buds, and its ortholog in humans was found to be part of the cluster of genes in PSORS1, which is telomeric to HLA-C. Upon characterization of STG, we identified several sequence variants and investigated their association with psoriasis in cases and controls from the Swedish population. None of these STG single-nucleotide polymorphisms were found to be significantly associated with psoriasis. However, HLA-Cw*0602 status was strongly associated with disease. STG expression was investigated in human tissues and found not to be restricted to taste buds, with signals also being detected in skin and tonsils.

Cell Line, Tumor↗

Scanning electron microscopy study of the tongue and lingual papillae of the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus californianus).

We observed the three-dimensional structures on the external surface and the connective tissue cores (CTCs) of the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus californianus), after exfoliation of the epithelium of the lingual papillae (filiform, fungiform, and vallate papillae), using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and conventional light microscopy. Macroscopically, the tongue was V-shaped and its apex was rounded. At the posterior area of the tongue, five vallate papillae were arranged in a V shape. In the epithelium, numerous taste buds were distributed on the top of the vallate papillae. On the dorsal surface from the apex to the boundary between the anterior and posterior tongue, filiform papillae were densely distributed. The CTCs of the filiform papillae consisted of a main protrusion (primary core) and many small cores (secondary cores). From the apex to the anterior one-third of the tongue, dome-like fungiform papillae were densely distributed, whereas fewer were located at the posterior two-thirds of the tongue. Several taste buds were found in the epithelium on the fungiform papillae. The size of the filiform papillae gradually increased from the apex to the boundary between the anterior and posterior tongue. At the lingual radix, the conical papillae, which were bigger than any filiform papillae, were densely distributed. The morphological characteristics of the tongue of the California sea lion appear to have been transformed to adapt to an aquatic environment; however, they possess some structures similar to those of land mammals.

Animals↗

Development of rat chorda tympani sodium responses: evidence for age-dependent changes in global amiloride-sensitive Na(+) channel kinetics.

In rat, chorda tympani nerve taste responses to Na(+) salts increase between roughly 10 and 45 days of age to reach stable, mature magnitudes. Previous evidence from in vitro preparations and from taste nerve responses using Na(+) channel blockers suggests that the physiological basis for this developmental increase in gustatory Na(+) sensitivity is the progressive addition of functional, Na(+) transduction elements (i.e., amiloride-sensitive Na(+) channels) to the apical membranes of fungiform papilla taste receptor cells. To avoid potential confounding effects of pharmacological interventions and to permit quantification of aggregate Na(+) channel behavior using a kinetic model, we obtained chorda tympani nerve responses to NaCl and sodium gluconate (NaGlu) during receptive field voltage clamp in rats aged from 12-14 to 60 days and older (60+ days). Significant, age-dependent increases in chorda tympani responses to these stimuli occurred as expected. Importantly, apical Na(+) channel density, estimated from an apical Na(+) channel kinetic model, increased monotonically with age. The maximum rate of Na(+) response increase occurred between postnatal days 12-14 and 29-31. In addition, estimated Na(+) channel affinity increased between 12-14 and 19-23 days of age, i.e., on a time course distinct from that of the maximum rate of Na(+) response increase. Finally, estimates of the fraction of clamp voltage dropped across taste receptor apical membranes decreased between 19-23 and 29-31 days of age for NaCl but remained stable for NaGlu. The stimulus dependence of this change is consistent with a developmental increase in taste bud tight junctional Cl(-) ion permeability that lags behind the developmental increase in apical Na(+) channel density. A significant, indirect anion influence on apical Na(+) channel properties was present at all ages tested. This influence was evident in the higher apparent apical Na(+) channel affinities obtained for NaCl relative to NaGlu. This stimulus-dependent modulation of apical Na(+) channel apparent affinity relies on differences in the transepithelial potentials between NaCl and NaGlu. These originate from differences in paracellular anion permeability but act also on the driving force for Na(+) through apical Na(+) channels. Detection of such an influence on taste depends fundamentally on the preservation of taste bud polarity and on a direct measure of sensory function, such as the response of primary afferents.

Aging↗

Morphological and kinematic study of the tongue and buccal cavity in the lizard Anguis fragilis (Reptilia:Anguidae).

BACKGROUND: The ability to detect chemical cues is highly developed in Scleroglossa, and particularly in anguid lizards. This ability was predicted because anguids possess a well-developed vomeronasal organ (VNO) (or Jacobson's organ) and rely largely on chemical cues in various behaviours as other active foragers. In this work, we have investigated the possible functional association between tongue flicking and the VNO in the lizard Anguis fragilis. METHODS: The morphology of the tongue and the buccal cavity was investigated by light and scanning electron microscopy. The kinematics of tongue and jaw movements was studied by high speed cinematography. RESULTS: The epithelial cells of the ventral aspect of the tongue tips show microstructures (microridges, microfacets, micropores) which are not present on other areas of the mouth. Beneath the tongue, the floor of the buccal cavity shows two concave-like elevations suggesting a structural analogy with the anterior processes described in snakes. The apex and the internal margin of these processes bear parallel oblique ridges. Taste buds occur anteriorly on the buccal floor and on the palate and are abundant on the internal side and on the edge on the anterior processes. The tongue showed three modes of tongue flicking: simple downward extension, single oscillation, and multiple oscillations. At each tongue flick, the ventral surface of the tips was observed contacting the substratum. Immediately after the tongue retraction, the buccal floor moved slightly upward. The observation of tongue flicking with the mouth open showed that the anterior processes moved upward when the tongue was retracted. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest that following: 1) during tongue flicking the ventral surface of the tongue tips invariably makes contact with the substratum; 2) the microstructures of the tongue tips and the ridges of the anterior processes might be helpful for collecting and receiving, respectively, chemicals during tongue flicking; 3) the anterior processes may be apposed on the roof of the mouth next to the ducts of VNOs when the buccal floor is fully elevated; 4) due to their localization, the taste buds could be equally stimulated by the molecules transferred during tongue flicking.

Animals↗

Faithful expression of GFP from the PLCbeta2 promoter in a functional class of taste receptor cells.

Phospholipase C-type beta2 (PLCbeta2) is expressed in a subset of cells within mammalian taste buds. This enzyme is involved in the transduction of sweet, bitter, and umami stimuli and thus is believed to be a marker for gustatory sensory receptor cells. We have developed transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of the PLCbeta2 promoter to enable one to identify these cells and record their physiological activity in living preparations. Expression of GFP (especially in lines with more than one copy integrated) is strong enough to be detected in intact tissue preparations using epifluorescence microscopy. By immunohistochemistry, we confirmed that the overwhelming majority of cells expressing GFP are those that endogenously express PLCbeta2. Expression of the GFP transgene in circumvallate papillae occurs at about the same time during development as endogenous PLCbeta2 expression. When loaded with a calcium-sensitive dye in situ, GFP-positive taste cells produce typical Ca2+ responses to a taste stimulus, the bitter compound cycloheximide. These PLCbeta2 promoter-GFP transgenic lines promise to be useful for studying taste transduction, sensory signal processing, and taste bud development.

Animals↗

The characteristics and regional distribution of afferent fibres in the chorda tympani of the cat.

1. Experiments were carried out on the cat's tongue to investigate regional variations in sensitivity to gustatory and thermal stimuli and to determine whether taste buds responding to particular stimuli are unique to specific areas. 2. In ten cats, integrated whole-nerve activity was recorded from the left chorda tympani during stimulation of the anterior, middle or posterior segments of the tongue. The level of activity produced by gustatory or thermal stimuli increased towards the posterior segment of the tongue but the relative activity evoked by each stimulus was similar for each segment. 3. Recordings were made from 108 single units dissected from the chorda tympani; fifty-five responded principally to gustatory stimuli, twenty were principally thermosensitive and thirty-three were purely mechanosensitive. 4. The gustatory units could be subdivided according to the stimuli which evoked the most vigorous discharge; there were sixteen salt units, eighteen acid units, nineteen salt-acid units and two quinine units. The salt units had a higher level of spontaneous activity than the other groups and the acid units supplied more fungiform papillae with a greater separation between them. 5. The two quinine units were both located near to the mid-line posteriorly but all other groups of gustatory, thermosensitive and mechanosensitive units were distributed over all regions of the dorsal surface of the tongue and did not have higher discharge rates in specific areas. 6. Individual stimulation of the fungiform papillae supplied by a single unit revealed that similar responses were evoked from each papilla but stimulation of a single papilla supplied by two or more units could evoke a different response in each unit. 7. This study revealed that the relative sensitivity to gustatory and thermal stimuli was similar in each region of the tongue and that taste buds responding to particular stimuli are not confined to specific areas.

Action Potentials↗

Taste placodes are primary targets of geniculate but not trigeminal sensory axons in mouse developing tongue.

Tongue embryonic taste buds begin to differentiate before the onset of gustatory papilla formation in murine. In light of this previous finding, we sought to reexamine the developing sensory innervation as it extends toward the lingual epithelium between E 11.5 and 14.5. Nerve tracings with fluorescent lipophilic dyes followed by confocal microscope examination were used to study the terminal branching of chorda tympani and lingual nerves. At E11.5, we confirmed that the chorda tympani nerve provided for most of the nerve branching in the tongue swellings. At E12.5, we show that the lingual nerve contribution to the overall innervation of the lingual swellings increased to the extent that its ramifications matched those of the chorda tympani nerve. At E13.0, the chorda tympani nerve terminal arborizations appeared more complex than those of the lingual nerve. While the chorda tympani nerve terminal branching appeared close to the lingual epithelium that of the trigeminal nerve remained rather confined to the subepithelial mesenchymal tissue. At E13.5, chorda tympani nerve terminals projected specifically to an ordered set of loci on the tongue dorsum corresponding to the epithelial placodes. In contrast, the lingual nerve terminals remained subepithelial with no branches directed towards the placodes. At E14.5, chorda tympani nerve filopodia first entered the apical epithelium of the developing fungiform papilla. The results suggest that there may be no significant delay between the differentiation of embryonic taste buds and their initial innervation.

Animals↗

Glossopharyngeal nerve regeneration is essential for the complete recovery of quinine-stimulated oromotor rejection behaviors and central patterns of neuronal activity in the nucleus of the solitary tract in the rat.

The peripheral, central, and behavioral consequences of glossopharyngeal nerve transection (GLX), regeneration, and the prevention of regeneration on the quinine-elicited responses of adult rats were concurrently examined. Oromotor taste reactivity (TR) was videotaped during intraoral infusion of 7 ml of either quinine (3 mm) or distilled water at 17, 52, or 94 d after surgery. We confirmed previous findings by showing that 17 d after neurotomy, (1) the number of circumvallate (CV) and foliate taste buds, (2) gapes (a characteristic aversive TR response), and (3) the number of Fos-like immunoreactive (FLI) neurons in the gustatory NST (gNST), particularly in the medial portion (subfield 5) of the rostral central subdivision (RC), were all severely attenuated in GLX rats. We extended these findings by showing that these lesion-induced effects were enduring when the GL did not regenerate (up to 94 d). In contrast, when the GL regenerated, as few as 52 d were sufficient to re-establish quinine-elicited TR, especially gaping, and FLI expression in RC, particularly within subfield 5, to values comparable with quinine-stimulated sham-operated rats. Evidently, the gNST maintains its potential to restore accurately the organization of neural activity that is disrupted by nerve injury, as assessed by FLI, ultimately leading to the return of normal protective oromotor responses, provided the nerve regenerates. This recovery was complete despite the reappearance of a reduced population of CV taste buds ( approximately 75% control values) and may relate to peripheral and/or central changes that occur in tandem with regeneration of the GL.

Animals↗

The epithelium of the tongue of Ambystoma mexicanum. Ultrastructural and histochemical aspects.

The distribution pattern of taste buds and goblet cells and histochemical and ultrastructural aspects of the tongue epithelium of Ambystoma mexicanum are here described. This study is also concerned with the developmental stages and origins of the epithelial cells. Pavement cells and goblet cells of the stratum superficiale are replaced by basal cells of the stratum germinativum in larvae and neotenous adults. The pavement cells of the larvae are characterized by a marginal layer of mucin grana. Decompaction of the mucins occurs immediately before extrusion in the adult. The larval goblet cell type (type I), which is also present in the adult, contains unfused grana of irregular shape. At the tip of the tongue, a further type (type II) of goblet cells is found. In the type II cells the intracellular secretory grana fuse to a single homogeneous mass. Leydig cells of the tongue epithelium are discerned by light microscopy first in the semi-adult, apparently correlated with partial metamorphosis. In the course of ontogenesis and induced metamorphosis the secretion changes to neutral glycoconjugates. The mucins of the pavement cells change first followed by those of the goblet cells. The glands of the secondary tongue show a dorso-ventral pattern of varying secretory qualities. Taste buds are found at the anterior margin of the tongue and along the base of the gill clasps in the early larva. They are already distributed all over the tongue at the end of the early larval phase.

Ambystoma mexicanum↗