Elsevier

Current Opinion in Physiology

Volume 20, April 2021, Pages 118-125
Current Opinion in Physiology

Chemical and electrical synaptic interactions among taste bud cells

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cophys.2020.12.004Get rights and content

Chemical synapses between taste cells were first proposed based on electron microscopy of fish taste buds. Subsequently, researchers found considerable evidence for electrical coupling in fish, amphibian, and possibly mammalian taste buds. The development lingual slice and isolated cell preparations allowed detailed investigations of cell‐cell interactions, both chemical and electrical, in taste buds. The identification of serotonin and ATP as taste neurotransmitters focused attention onto chemical synaptic interactions between taste cells and research on electrical coupling faded. Findings from Ca2+ imaging, electrophysiology, and molecular biology indicate that several neurotransmitters, including ATP, serotonin, GABA, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine, are secreted by taste cells and exert paracrine interactions in taste buds. Most work has been done on interactions between Type II and Type III taste cells. This brief review follows the trail of studies on cell–cell interactions in taste buds, from the initial ultrastructural observations to the most recent optogenetic manipulations.

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Conflict of interest statement

Nothing declared.

Given his role as Guest Editor, Stephen Roper had no involvement in the peer-review of this article and has no access to information regarding its peer-review. Full responsibility for the editorial process for this article was delegated to Nirupa Chaudhari.

References and recommended reading

Papers of particular interest, published within the period of review, have been highlighted as:

  • • of special interest

  • •• of outstanding interest

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge and thank S A Simon (Duke) and N Chaudhari (U Miami) for their helpful comments and suggestions. I dedicate this article to Douglas A Ewald, my friend and former collaborator at Colorado State University. Doug helped pioneer the lingual slice preparation for studying taste buds ex vivo and was the first to record cell‐cell interactions between taste cells, described in the above review. Doug passed away in June 2020.

This work has been supported over the recent years

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