Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 16, 2025
07:40
Whole-Mount Staining, Visualization, and Analysis of Fungiform, Circumvallate, and Palate Taste Buds
Published on: February 11, 2021
3.8K
Cellular Diversity and Regeneration in Taste Buds
Thomas E Finger1, Linda A Barlow1
1Dept. Cell & Developmental Biology, Univ. Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, MS 8108, Room L18-11118, RC-1, 12801 E. 17th Ave., Aurora CO 80045.
Current Opinion in Physiology
|February 22, 2021
Summary
Taste buds detect tastes like sweet and bitter. Recent advances improve understanding of taste bud cells, their renewal, and differentiation processes.
Area of Science:
- Sensory biology
- Cell biology
- Molecular genetics
Background:
- Taste buds are sensory organs responsible for gustation, detecting basic tastes (salty, sour, bitter, sweet, umami) and potentially others like fat and kokumi.
- Significant progress in understanding taste bud structure and function has been achieved through advanced ultrastructural methods, molecular genetics, and in vitro models.
Purpose of the Study:
- This review focuses on the cellular components of taste buds.
- It also examines the molecular mechanisms regulating taste bud cell renewal and differentiation.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent literature.
- Analysis of ultrastructural data.
- Molecular genetics findings.
- In vitro model studies.
Main Results:
- Detailed description of various cellular constituents within taste buds.
- Elucidation of key molecular pathways governing taste bud cell turnover.
- Insights into the differentiation processes of taste bud cells.
Conclusions:
- A comprehensive understanding of taste bud cellular makeup is crucial.
- Molecular regulation plays a vital role in maintaining and regenerating taste bud populations.
- Further research into these mechanisms can inform strategies for taste disorders.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Taste Buds and Receptors
3.7K
Gustation, or the sense of taste, is intrinsically linked to the anatomical structures located on the tongue. This organ's surface, along with the entirety of the oral cavity, is adorned with stratified squamous epithelium. Evident on the tongue are elevated structures known as papillae (singular = papilla), which house the mechanisms for the transduction of gustatory stimuli. Four distinct types of papillae exist, each identified by their unique morphological attributes: the circumvallate,...
3.7K
00:49The Tongue and Taste Buds
39.2K
The surface of the tongue is covered with various small bumps called papillae, which either distribute what has been ingested (filiform papillae) or contain the sensory taste (or gustatory) receptor cells (fungiform, circumvallate, and foliate papillae). Embedded within each taste-related papilla are the taste buds—clusters of 30 to 100 gustatory receptor cells.
39.2K
01:43Gustation
50.8K
Gustation is a chemical sense that, along with olfaction (smell), contributes to our perception of taste. It starts with the activation of receptors by chemical compounds (tastants) dissolved in the saliva. The saliva and filiform papillae on the tongue distribute the tastants and increase their exposure to the taste receptors.
50.8K
01:24The Physiology of Taste
5.7K
The perception of a salty flavor is facilitated by sodium ions within the oral salivary fluid. Upon consumption of a salty substance, salt crystals disassemble, leading to the liberation of its constituents—Na+ and Cl- ions. These ions subsequently dissolve into the salivary fluid present in the oral cavity. The external environment of the gustatory cells experiences an elevation in Na+ concentration, thereby establishing a potent concentration gradient. This gradient propels the...
5.7K
00:50Unrenewable Cells
2.6K
In humans, the photoreceptor cells of the eye and sensory hair cells of the ear lack stem cells. These cells are thus unrenewable and cannot be replaced when they are damaged or destroyed.
Photoreceptors
The retina is composed of several layers and contains specialized cells called photoreceptors. The photoreceptors (rods and cones) change their membrane potential when stimulated by light energy. There are two types of photoreceptors—rods and cones—which differ in the shape of...
Photoreceptors
The retina is composed of several layers and contains specialized cells called photoreceptors. The photoreceptors (rods and cones) change their membrane potential when stimulated by light energy. There are two types of photoreceptors—rods and cones—which differ in the shape of...
2.6K
01:27Tactile and Chemical Senses
475
Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex.
475