title: Ulex Europaeus Agglutinin-1 Is a Reliable Taste Bud Marker for In Situ Hybridization Analyses.
abstract: Taste signals are received by taste buds. To better understand the taste reception system, expression patterns of taste-related molecules are determined by in situ hybridization (ISH) analyses at the histological level. Nevertheless, even though ISH is essential for determining mRNA expression, few taste bud markers can be applied together with ISH. Ulex europaeus agglutinin-1 (UEA-1) appears to be a reliable murine taste bud marker based on immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses. However, there is no evidence as to whether UEA-1 can be used for ISH. Thus, the present study evaluated UEA-1 using various histochemical methods, especially ISH. When lectin staining was performed after ISH procedures, UEA-1 clearly labeled taste cellular membranes and distinctly indicated boundaries between taste buds and the surrounding epithelial cells. Additionally, UEA-1 was determined as a taste bud marker not only when used in single-colored ISH but also when employed with double-labeled ISH or during simultaneous detection using IHC and ISH methods. These results suggest that UEA-1 is a useful marker when conducting analyses based on ISH methods. To clarify UEA-1 staining details, multi-fluorescent IHC (together with UEA-1 staining) was examined, resulting in more than 99% of cells being labeled by UEA-1 and overlapping with KCNQ1-expressing cells.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (JY, SO, TM)|Central Research Institute, Mizkan Holdings, Aichi, Japan (JY, MK)
authors.forename: Joto
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoshimoto
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (JY, SO, TM)
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Central Research Institute, Mizkan Holdings, Aichi, Japan (JY, MK)
authors.forename: Mikiya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kishi
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (JY, SO, TM)
authors.forename: Takumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Misaka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000032:analysis*; D013650:Taste Buds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D037121:Plant Lectins; C036850:Ulex europaeus lectins
keywords: Ulex europaeus agglutinin-1; immunohistochemistry; in situ hybridization; lectin histochemistry; taste bud