Key Points
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Taste buds are composed of two excitable cell types and a glia-like cell; each type of cell has distinct functions.
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Basic taste qualities are detected by G protein-coupled type 1 and type 2 taste receptors, by other receptors and ion channels, and possibly by transporters.
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ATP is an afferent taste transmitter and is secreted by taste bud cells through an unconventional, non-vesicular release mechanism.
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ATP, serotonin and GABA mediate cell–cell interactions in the taste bud that may shape transmission to sensory afferent fibres.
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Controversy remains regarding whether peripheral taste coding follows a labelled-line or combinatorial pattern.
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Taste preferences and appetites seem to have a genetic component that is being revealed by molecular and population studies.
Abstract
The past decade has witnessed a consolidation and refinement of the extraordinary progress made in taste research. This Review describes recent advances in our understanding of taste receptors, taste buds, and the connections between taste buds and sensory afferent fibres. The article discusses new findings regarding the cellular mechanisms for detecting tastes, new data on the transmitters involved in taste processing and new studies that address longstanding arguments about taste coding.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge support from the US National Institutes of Health (grants R01DC000374 and R01DC007630 (to S.D.R.), R01DC006308 (to N.C.), and R21DC012746 and R01DC014420 (to S.D.R. and N.C.), and Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
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Glossary
- Intracellular acidification
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The increased concentration of cytosolic hydrogen ions, which corresponds to a decrease in cytoplasmic pH. Intracellular acidification can result from metabolic processes, the dissociation of organic (weak) acids, or the influx of protons through channels or transporters.
- Taste coding
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The computational system by which trains of action potentials in sensory cells convey information about the quality, concentration and other features of a sensory stimulus.
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Roper, S., Chaudhari, N. Taste buds: cells, signals and synapses. Nat Rev Neurosci 18, 485–497 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2017.68
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2017.68
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