Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3308, USA.
Chem Senses. 2011 Nov;36(9):811-9. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjr056. Epub 2011 Jul 9.
Effects of gustatory nerve transection on salt taste have been studied extensively in rats and hamsters but have not been well explored in the mouse. We examined the effects of chorda tympani (CT) nerve transection on NaCl taste preferences and thresholds in outbred CD-1 mice using a high-throughput phenotyping method developed in our laboratory. To measure taste thresholds, mice were conditioned by oral self-administration of LiCl or NaCl and then presented with NaCl concentration series in 2-bottle preference tests. LiCl-conditioned and control NaCl-exposed mice were given bilateral transections of the CT nerve (LiCl-CTX, NaCl-CTX) or were left intact as controls (LiCl-CNT, NaCl-CNT). After recovery from surgery, mice received a concentration series of NaCl (0-300 mM) in 48-h 2-bottle tests. CT transection increased NaCl taste thresholds in LiCl-conditioned mice and eliminated avoidance of concentrated NaCl in control NaCl-exposed mice. This demonstrates that in mice, the CT nerve is important for detection and recognition of NaCl taste and is necessary for the normal avoidance of high concentrations of NaCl. The results of this experiment also show that the method of high-throughput phenotyping of salt taste thresholds is suitable for detecting changes in the taste periphery in mouse genetic studies.
味觉神经切断术对盐味觉的影响在大鼠和仓鼠中已经得到了广泛的研究，但在小鼠中尚未得到很好的探索。我们使用我们实验室开发的高通量表型分析方法，研究了鼓索神经（chorda tympani，CT）切断对近交系 CD-1 小鼠 NaCl 味觉偏好和阈值的影响。为了测量味觉阈值，通过口腔自主给予氯化锂或 NaCl 来对小鼠进行条件作用，然后在 2 瓶偏好测试中呈现 NaCl 浓度系列。将 LiCl 条件化和对照 NaCl 暴露的小鼠进行双侧 CT 神经切断（LiCl-CTX，NaCl-CTX），或作为对照保持完整（LiCl-CNT，NaCl-CNT）。手术后恢复后，小鼠在 48 小时 2 瓶测试中接受了一系列 NaCl（0-300mM）浓度的测试。CT 切断增加了 LiCl 条件化小鼠的 NaCl 味觉阈值，并消除了对照 NaCl 暴露小鼠对高浓度 NaCl 的回避。这表明，在小鼠中，CT 神经对于 NaCl 味觉的检测和识别很重要，并且对于正常回避高浓度 NaCl 是必需的。该实验的结果还表明，盐味觉阈值高通量表型分析方法适用于检测小鼠遗传研究中味觉外周的变化。
