| Title | Cell-to-cell communication in taste buds through ATP signaling from pannexin 1 gap junction hemichannels. | | Author(s) | Dando R, Roper SD | | Institution | Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. | | Source | J Physiol 2009 Nov 2. | | Abstract | Isolated taste cells, taste buds, and strips of lingual tissue from taste papillae secrete ATP (adenosine triphosphate) upon taste stimulation. Taste bud Receptor (Type II) cells have been identified as the source of ATP secretion. Based on studies on isolated taste buds and single taste cells, we have postulated that ATP secreted from Receptor cells via pannexin 1 hemichannels acts within the taste bud to excite neighboring Presynaptic (Type III) cells. This hypothesis however, remains to be tested in intact tissues. In this report we used confocal Ca(2+) imaging and lingual slices containing intact taste buds to test the hypothesis of purinergic signaling between taste cells in a more integral preparation. Incubating lingual slices with apyrase reversibly blocked cell-to-cell communication between Receptor to Presynaptic cells, consistent with ATP being the transmitter. Inhibiting pannexin 1 gap junction hemichannels with CO(2)-saturated buffer or probenecid significantly reduced cell-cell signaling between Receptor and Presynaptic cells. In contrast, anandamide, a blocker of connexin gap junction channels, had no effect of cell-to-cell communication in taste buds. These findings are consistent with the model for peripheral signal processing via ATP and pannexin 1 hemichannels in mammalian taste buds. | | Language | ENG | | Pub Type(s) | JOURNAL ARTICLE
| | PubMed ID | 19884319 |
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