Talk:Sensory - Taste Development

Inflammation and taste disorders: mechanisms in taste buds.

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Jul;1170:596-603.

Wang H, Zhou M, Brand J, Huang L.

Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. hwang@monell.org Abstract Taste disorders, including taste distortion and taste loss, negatively impact general health and quality of life. To understand the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms, we set out to identify inflammation-related molecules in taste tissue and to assess their role in the development of taste dysfunctions. We found that 10 out of 12 mammalian Toll-like receptors (TLRs), type I and II interferon (IFN) receptors, and their downstream signaling components are present in taste tissue. Some TLRs appear to be selectively or more abundantly expressed in taste buds than in nongustatory lingual epithelium. Immunohistochemistry with antibodies against TLRs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 confirmed the presence of these receptor proteins in taste bud cells, of which TLRs 2, 3, and 4 are expressed in the gustducin-expressing type II taste bud cells. Administration of TLR ligands, lipopolysaccharide, and double-stranded RNA polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, which mimics bacterial or viral infection, activates the IFN signaling pathways, upregulates the expression of IFN-inducible genes, and downregulates the expression of c-fos in taste buds. Finally, systemic administration of IFNs augments apoptosis of taste bud cells in mice. Taken together, these data suggest that TLR and IFN pathways function collaboratively in recognizing pathogens and mediating inflammatory responses in taste tissue. This process, however, may interfere with normal taste transduction and taste bud cell turnover and contributes to the development of taste disorders.

PMID: 19686199

Book Ref

Mistretta CM. Developmental Neurobiology of taste. In: Getchell T DR, Bartoshuk L, Snow J, editors. Smell and Taste in Health and Disease. Raven Press; New York: 1991. pp. 35–64.

GIT

Introduction to Salivary Glands: Structure, Function and Embryonic Development. Miletich I. Front Oral Biol. 2010;14:1-20. Epub 2010 Apr 20. PMID: 20428008

"Salivary glands are a group of organs secreting a watery substance that is of utmost importance for several physiological functions ranging from the protection of teeth and surrounding soft tissues to the lubrication of the oral cavity, which is crucial for speech and perception of food taste. Salivary glands are complex networks of hollow tubes and secretory units that are found in specific locations of the mouth and which, although architecturally similar, exhibit individual specificities according to their location. This chapter focuses on the embryonic development of vertebrate salivary glands, which has been classically studied in the mouse model system since the 1950s. We describe here where, when and how major salivary glands develop in the lower jaw of the mouse embryo. Key mechanisms involved in this process are discussed, including reciprocal tissue interactions between epithelial and mesenchymal cells, epithelial branching morphogenesis and coordinated cell deathand cell proliferation. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel."

"In mammals, the homogeneous lingual epithelium in the process of development forms specialized placodal cells that undergo a series of morphogenetic changes to form a papilla. Taste buds appear in the papillary epithelium around birth and thus papillae serve to house the taste buds in the adult."

Factors that regulate embryonic gustatory development http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/8/S3/S4