Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 11, 2025
07:57
Generation and Culture of Lingual Organoids Derived from Adult Mouse Taste Stem Cells
Published on: April 5, 2021
4.6K
The sense of taste: Development, regeneration, and dysfunction
1Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, Graduate Program in Cell Biology, Stem Cells & Development, and the Rocky Mountain Taste & Smell Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Wires Mechanisms of Disease
|December 1, 2021
Summary
The sense of taste relies on taste receptor cells (TRCs) within taste buds, which regenerate every 1-2 months. This review covers taste development, regeneration, and dysfunction mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Gustation, the sense of taste, is crucial for identifying safe food and avoiding toxins.
- Taste perception is mediated by taste receptor cells (TRCs) organized in taste buds on the tongue.
- TRCs are continuously renewed, with complete replacement every 1-2 months, ensuring persistent taste function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent findings on taste bud development and regeneration.
- To discuss the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating taste bud renewal.
- To explore potential causes of taste dysfunction in disease and treatment.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent scientific literature on taste development and regeneration.
- Analysis of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying taste bud cell turnover.
- Discussion of pathological conditions affecting gustation.
Main Results:
- Taste buds are established during embryogenesis and undergo constant renewal of TRCs.
- Significant progress has been made in understanding the regulation of taste bud cell regeneration.
- Taste dysfunction can arise from various diseases and medical treatments.
Conclusions:
- Taste bud development and regeneration are complex processes involving intricate cellular and molecular regulation.
- Understanding these processes is vital for addressing taste dysfunction.
- Further research into taste regeneration mechanisms may offer therapeutic avenues for conditions affecting gustation.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Taste Buds and Receptors
3.1K
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,...
3.1K
01:43Gustation
49.7K
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.
49.7K
01:24The Physiology of Taste
4.6K
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...
4.6K
00:49The Tongue and Taste Buds
38.1K
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.
38.1K
01:27Tactile and Chemical Senses
392
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.
392
01:26Introduction to Special Senses
6.3K
Sensory receptors play an integral part in comprehending our external and internal environments. They receive diverse stimuli, converting them into the nervous system's electrochemical signals. This conversion occurs as the stimulus alters the sensory neuron's cell membrane potential, instigating the generation of an action potential. This action potential is subsequently transmitted to the central nervous system (CNS), which integrates with other sensory data or higher cognitive...
6.3K