Nishiyama Miyako, Yuki Saori, Fukano Chiharu, Sako Hideyuki, Miyamoto Takenori, Tomooka Yasuhiro
Division of Material and Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Zoolog Sci. 2011 Sep;28(9):623-32. doi: 10.2108/zsj.28.623.
Taste buds are the end organs of taste located in the gustatory papillae, which occur on the surface of the oral cavity. The goal of the present study was to establish a culture model mimicking the lingual taste bud of the mouse. To this end, three cell lines were employed: taste bud-derived cell lines (TBD cell lines), a lingual epithelial cell-derived cell line (20A cell line), and a mesenchymal cell-derived cell line (TMD cell line). TBD cells embedded in collagen gel formed three-dimensional clusters, which had an internal cavity equipped with a tight junction-like structure, a microvilluslike structure, and a laminin-positive layer surrounding the cluster. The cells with this epitheliumlike morphology expressed marker proteins of taste cells: gustducin and NCAM. TBD cells formed a monolayer on collagen gel when they were co-cultured with TMD cells. TBD, 20A, and TMD cell lines were maintained in a triple cell co-culture, in which TBD cells were pre-seeded as aggregates or in suspension on the collagen gel containing TMD cells, and 20A cells were laid over the TBD cells. TBD cells in the triple cell co-culture expressed NCAM. This result suggests that co-cultured TBD cells exhibited a characteristic of Type III taste cells. The culture model would be useful to study morphogenesis and functions of the gustatory organ.
味蕾是位于味蕾乳头中的味觉终末器官，味蕾乳头出现在口腔表面。本研究的目的是建立一种模拟小鼠舌味蕾的培养模型。为此，使用了三种细胞系：味蕾衍生细胞系（TBD细胞系）、舌上皮细胞衍生细胞系（20A细胞系）和间充质细胞衍生细胞系（TMD细胞系）。嵌入胶原凝胶中的TBD细胞形成三维簇，其具有配备紧密连接样结构、微绒毛样结构和围绕簇的层粘连蛋白阳性层的内腔。具有这种上皮样形态的细胞表达味觉细胞的标记蛋白：味导素和神经细胞黏附分子（NCAM）。当TBD细胞与TMD细胞共培养时，它们在胶原凝胶上形成单层。TBD、20A和TMD细胞系维持在三细胞共培养中，其中TBD细胞预先作为聚集体或悬浮液接种在含有TMD细胞的胶原凝胶上，并且20A细胞铺在TBD细胞上。三细胞共培养中的TBD细胞表达NCAM。该结果表明共培养的TBD细胞表现出III型味觉细胞的特征。该培养模型将有助于研究味觉器官的形态发生和功能。
