Expression of Mash1 in basal cells of rat circumvallate taste buds is dependent upon gustatory innervation.
Mash1, a mammalian homologue of the Drosophila achaete-scute proneural gene complex, plays an essential role in differentiation of subsets of peripheral neurons. In this study, using RT-PCR and in situ RT-PCR, we investigated if Mash1 gene expression occurs in rat taste buds. Further, we examined dynamics of Mash1 expression in the process of degeneration and regeneration in denervated rat taste buds. In rat tongue epithelium, Mash1 gene expression is confined to circumvallate, foliate, and fungiform papilla epithelia that include taste buds. In taste buds, Mash1-expressing cells are round cells in the basal compartment. In contrast, the mature taste bud cells do not express the Mash1 gene. Denervation and regeneration experiments show that the expression of Mash1 requires gustatory innervation. We conclude that Mash1 is expressed in cells of the taste bud lineage, and that the expression of Mash1 in rat taste buds is dependent upon gustatory innervation.
Department of Oral Anatomy II, Kyushu Dental College, Kitakyushu, Japan. yujiseta@mail.kyu-dent.ac.jp
Y
Y
Seta
T
T
Toyono
S
S
Takeda
K
K
Toyoshima
D000818:Animals; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D019070:Cell Lineage; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D003714:Denervation; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D005930:Glossopharyngeal Nerve / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D020401:Primed In Situ Labeling; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013650:Taste Buds / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014059:Tongue / Q000166:cytology / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014157:Transcription Factors; C499318:Ascl1 protein, rat