BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) is a member of the neurotrophin family which affects the proliferation and survival of neurons. Using an immunocytochemical method, we examined the expression of BDNF and its receptor, TrkB, in the taste bud cells of the circumvallate papillae of normal mice and of mice after transection of the glossopharyngeal nerves. We additionally observed the expression of BDNF and TrkB in the developing circumvallate papillae of late prenatal and early postnatal mice. In normal untreated mice, BDNF was expressed in most of the taste bud cells; TrkB was detected in the plasma membrane of taste bud cells and in the nerve fibers. Double-labeling studies showed that BDNF and NCAM (neural cell adhesion molecule) or TrkB and NCAM colocalized in some of the taste bud cells, but that most taste bud cells were immunopositive for only BDNF or TrkB. NCAM-immunoreactive cells are known to be type-III cells, which have afferent synaptic contacts with the nerve terminals. Five days after denervation, the number of taste buds and nerve fibers markedly decreased; however, the remaining taste bud cells still expressed BDNF and TrkB. By 10 days after denervation, most of the taste buds had disappeared, and there were a few TrkB-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the connective tissue core. By 4 weeks after denervation, numerous TrkB-immunoreactive nerve fibers had invaded the papillae, and a few taste buds expressing BDNF and TrkB had regenerated. At E (embryonic day) 15 during development, the circumvallate papillae appeared, and then TrkB-immunoreactive nerve fibers entered the connective tissue core, and some of these fibers further invaded among the dorsal epithelial cells of the papillae. TrkB-immunoreactive oval-shaped cells were occasionally found in the dorsal epithelium. Such TrkB-immunoreactive nerve fibers and cells were also observed at E16-18. However, BDNF was not expressed in the papillae through the late prenatal days of E15 to E18. At P (postnatal day) 0, a cluster of BDNF-and TrkB-immunoreactive cells appeared in the dorsal epithelium of the papillae, and was presumed to be primitive taste buds. We conclude that TrkB-immunoreactive nerve fibers are necessary for papillary and taste bud formation during development and for the regeneration of taste buds after denervation. BDNF in the taste bud cells may act as a neurotrophic factor for innervating sensory neurons--through TrkB receptors of the axons of those neurons, and also may exert autocrine and paracrine trophic actions on neighboring taste bud cells by binding to their TrkB receptors.