In the article “Mouse Taste Buds Use Serotonin as a Neurotransmitter” by Yi-Jen Huang, Yutaka Maruyama, Kuo-Shyan Lu, Elizabeth Pereira, Ilya Plonsky, John E. Baur, Dianqing Wu, and Stephen D. Roper, which appeared on pages 843–847 of the January 26, 2005 issue, the authors wish to make three corrections listed below. These corrections do not affect the main conclusions and interpretations of the paper.
In the Results, paragraph 4, on page 845, the first line should read as follows: Biosensor responses were generally small but were enhanced significantly by incubating lingual epithelium for 30–45 min with 500 μm to 1 mm 5-HTP, the immediate precursor to 5-HT, before isolating taste buds (Fig. 2, compare C, D).
In Figure 2D's legend on page 845, the corrected text is as follows: D, A procedure similar to that in C was conducted on a taste bud preparation that had been pretreated with 1 mm 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) to elevate the serotonin concentration in taste cells. Responses evoked by depolarization and taste stimulation are enhanced by this procedure. E, Saccharin (sac), but not aspartame (aspm), evoked serotonin release from taste buds. F, Mianserin (1 nm; shaded area) reversibly reduced the biosensor responses evoked by depolarizing taste buds repeatedly with 50 mm KCl (↓). Preparations in E and F had been pretreated with 5-HTP, as in D (E, 1 mm; F, 500 μm 5-HTP).
In Figure 3A's legend on page 846, the corrected text is as follows: A, Continuation of experiment illustrated in Figure 2D, showing sequential biosensor responses from an isolated taste bud after stimulation with 50 mm KCl (↓) or 100 μm cycloheximide (cyx; ↓). The biosensor was tested for sensitivity at the beginning and end of the record with 3 nm 5-HT (↓). During the traces marked “Ca-free,” Ca2+ in the bath (2 mm) was exchanged for 3 mm Mg2+. This and the following preparations were pretreated with 1 mm 5-HTP, as described in the text.
