In this study SEM and light microscopy were used to investigate the structure of the foliate papillae in the porcupine. The foliate papillae consisted of about 10 or 11 clefts. The length of the foliate papillae averaged 2.79 mm and its width averaged 863 μm. Taste buds were located intraepithelial in the basal half of the papilla grooves (sulcus papillae). Every wall on each fold harboured fro...

Introduction Mouse taste buds in fungiform papillae consist of ∼50 cells (TBCs; unpublished data), but only a few of them have synaptic contacts with taste nerves (Kinnamon et al., 1993; Seta and Toyoshima, 1995). Neither chemical nor electrical synapses/gap junctions have been confirmed in mammalian taste buds, though a subpopulation of TBCs expressed a variety of neurotransmitter receptors (K...

Different species of fruit flies share habitats but are believed to mate with each other only rarely. In this issue, Fan et al. show that interspecies mating is inhibited by the taste receptor Gr32a (Gustatory receptor 32a) and a neural circuit in which it functions.

We investigated the positioning of the epiglottis in the pharyngo-laryngeal region and the distribution of taste buds on the epiglottis in the rat and house shrew, animals which have different feeding habits. In the fixed samples of both species, when the mouth was closed or slightly opened, the epiglottis was found to protrude into the nasopharyngeal hiatus above the soft palate. But it retrac...

Nesfatin-1, an anorexigenic peptide derived from nucleobindin 2 (NUCB2), is closely involved in feeding behavior, glycometabolism, and satiety regulation. Some studies show that NUCB2/nesfatin-1 is highly expressed and interacts with many appetite-regulating peptides that are co-expressed in the gastrointestinal tract. However, it remains unclear whether nesfatin-1 is expressed and interacts si...

Dietary sodium restriction has profound effects on the development of peripheral taste function and central taste system anatomy. This study examined whether early dietary sodium restriction also affects innervation of taste buds. The number of geniculate ganglion cells that innervate single fungiform taste buds were quantified for the midregion of the tongue in two groups of rats: those fed ei...

Tichy F.: The ultrastructure of Taste Buds in the Newborn Lamb. Acta vet. Brno, 61, 1992: 83-91. The ultrastructure of taste buds on circumvallate papillae collected from the tongues of three lambs on the day of birth was studied. Of special concern were the composition of the bud from dark, light and receptor cells, formation of the taste pore and the presence and nature of contacts of intrage...

Taste receptor cells are innervated by primary gustatory neurons that relay sensory information to the central nervous system. The transmitter(s) at synapses between taste receptor cells and primary afferent fibers is (are) not yet known. By analogy with other sensory organs, glutamate might a transmitter in taste buds. We examined the presence of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits in rat gustator...

Cytokeratins in taste buds were immunocytochemically evaluated with monoclonal antibodies. In each of six different epithelial sites in the rat oral cavity, intragemmal cells of taste buds were immunoreactive for keratin polypeptides 8, 18, and 19, as well as for keratin 7, which has not been previously reported in taste buds. Keratin-18-like immunoreactivity was present in fewer than half of t...