Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Chem Senses. 2014 Jan;39(1):3-16. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjt059. Epub 2013 Nov 28.
The mammalian taste bud is an onion-shaped epithelial structure with 50-100 tightly packed cells, including taste receptor cells, supporting cells, and basal cells. Taste receptor cells detect nutrients and toxins in the oral cavity and transmit the sensory information to gustatory nerve endings in the buds. Supporting cells may play a role in the clearance of excess neurotransmitters after their release from taste receptor cells. Basal cells are precursor cells that differentiate into mature taste cells. Similar to other epithelial cells, taste cells turn over continuously, with an average life span of about 8-12 days. To maintain structural homeostasis in taste buds, new cells are generated to replace dying cells. Several recent studies using genetic lineage tracing methods have identified populations of progenitor/stem cells for taste buds, although contributions of these progenitor/stem cell populations to taste bud homeostasis have yet to be fully determined. Some regulatory factors of taste cell differentiation and degeneration have been identified, but our understanding of these aspects of taste bud homoeostasis remains limited. Many patients with various diseases develop taste disorders, including taste loss and taste distortion. Decline in taste function also occurs during aging. Recent studies suggest that disruption or alteration of taste bud homeostasis may contribute to taste dysfunction associated with disease and aging.
哺乳动物的味蕾是一种洋葱状的上皮结构，由 50-100 个紧密排列的细胞组成，包括味觉受体细胞、支持细胞和基底细胞。味觉受体细胞检测口腔中的营养物质和毒素，并将感觉信息传递到味蕾中的味觉神经末梢。支持细胞在味觉受体细胞释放过多神经递质后可能发挥清除作用。基底细胞是一种前体细胞，可分化为成熟的味觉细胞。与其他上皮细胞一样，味觉细胞不断更新，平均寿命约为 8-12 天。为了维持味蕾的结构稳态，新的细胞会产生以取代死亡的细胞。最近使用遗传谱系追踪方法的几项研究已经确定了味觉细胞的祖细胞/干细胞群体，尽管这些祖细胞/干细胞群体对味觉细胞稳态的贡献尚未完全确定。已经鉴定出一些调节味觉细胞分化和退化的因子，但我们对味觉细胞稳态这些方面的理解仍然有限。许多患有各种疾病的患者会出现味觉障碍，包括味觉丧失和味觉失真。味觉功能的衰退也会随着年龄的增长而发生。最近的研究表明，味觉细胞稳态的破坏或改变可能与疾病和衰老相关的味觉功能障碍有关。
