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Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Whole-Mount Staining, Visualization, and Analysis of Fungiform, Circumvallate, and Palate Taste Buds
Published on: February 11, 2021
Intravital microscopic interrogation of peripheral taste sensation
Myunghwan Choi1, Woei Ming Lee2, Seok Hyun Yun3
11] Harvard Medical School and Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 65 Landsdowne St., UP-5, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA [2] Global Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-Gu, Suwon, South Korea.
Abstract:
Intravital microscopy is a powerful tool in neuroscience but has not been adapted to the taste sensory organ due to anatomical constraint. Here we developed an imaging window to facilitate microscopic access to the murine tongue in vivo. Real-time two-photon microscopy allowed the visualization of three-dimensional microanatomy of the intact tongue mucosa and functional activity of taste cells in response to topically administered tastants in live mice. Video microscopy also showed the calcium activity of taste cells elicited by small-sized tastants in the blood circulation. Molecular kinetic analysis suggested that intravascular taste sensation takes place at the microvilli on the apical side of taste cells after diffusion of the molecules through the pericellular capillaries and tight junctions in the taste bud. Our results demonstrate the capabilities and utilities of the new tool for taste research in vivo.
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