Presentation Details
Taste coding from the perspective of a single taste bud

Syed A Uddin, Hanna Rodriguez, Thirada Boonrawd, Hojoon Lee.

Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

Abstract


Taste plays a crucial role in an animal's consumption or rejection of food. Generally, toxic and noxious substances taste bitter or sour, while nutrient-rich foods taste sweet, umami, or salty. These sensations start in the taste buds on the tongue, consisting of taste receptor cells (TRCs) innervated by axons from taste (geniculate) ganglia that carry information to the brain.  Traditionally, TRC activity has been inferred indirectly by single fiber recordings of the taste fibers or by patch clamping TRCs after cell dissociation. The in vivo mechanisms by which individual TRCs encode and transfer this information to the nerve fibers remain unclear. To explore this, we developed a mouse model expressing a genetically encoded green fluorescent calcium indicator (GCaMP) in TRCs and taste bud nerve fibers. This model allows us to visualize the real-time activation of the TRCs and fibers in response to tastant delivery. We designed a custom 3D-printed stage to deliver tastants across the tongue of living mice. This setup allows for real-time, in vivo multiphoton imaging of both TRC and nerve fiber activity. Here, we will present our functional imaging results from the TRCs and their innervating fibers. Deciphering these peripheral coding mechanisms is essential for addressing taste dysfunction caused by aging, disease, and obesity.  

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