Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 17, 2026
07:57
Generation and Culture of Lingual Organoids Derived from Adult Mouse Taste Stem Cells
Published on: April 5, 2021
5.0K
Developing and regenerating a sense of taste.
Christina M Piarowski1, Trevor J Isner1, Linda A Barlow1
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate Program in Cell Biology, Stem Cells, and Development, and the Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States.
Current Topics in Developmental Biology
|September 19, 2025
Summary
The sense of taste relies on taste buds (TBs) and taste receptor cells (TRCs) for survival. Understanding TB regeneration is key to treating taste dysfunction caused by disease or injury.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Gustation (sense of taste) is vital for health, enabling discrimination of nutrients and toxins.
- Taste buds (TBs) house taste receptor cells (TRCs) that transduce chemical stimuli into neural signals.
- TBs originate from ectoderm (anterior tongue) and endoderm (posterior tongue) but are continuously renewed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current findings on taste bud development and regeneration.
- To discuss the transition from developmental to homeostatic mechanisms in taste epithelium.
- To explore taste dysfunction from cancer therapies, injury, and inflammation.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on taste bud development, regeneration, and function.
- Analysis of molecular and cellular mechanisms governing taste epithelium maintenance.
- Discussion of pathological conditions affecting taste perception.
Main Results:
- Taste bud cells are continuously renewed, ensuring consistent taste perception.
- Disruption of taste bud regeneration leads to taste dysfunction (dysgeusia).
- Cancer therapies, injury, and inflammation can impair taste function.
Conclusions:
- Understanding taste bud development and regeneration is crucial for addressing dysgeusia.
- Further research is needed to elucidate mechanisms of taste dysfunction and recovery.
- Future directions include investigating therapeutic strategies for taste disorders.
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