Effect of monoamines on the taste buds in the mouse.

Mouse taste buds were investigated following administration of monoamines and their precursors by fluorescence and electron microscopy. The appearance of fluorescent cells within the taste bud and the ultrastructural changes of vesicles in the gustatory cells were due to the treatment of 5-hydroxytryptophan. Small dense-cored vesicles (30-60 nm in diameter) appeared throughout the cytoplasm and accumulated especially at the presynaptic membranes of afferent synapses. Large dense-cored vesicles (80-100 nm) increased twice in number, and electron densities of their cores became more dense as compared with untreated mice. Fluorescent cells appeared in the taste bud of L-DOPA treated mice, whereas no ultrastructural changes were observed. These results suggest that the gustatory cells of the taste bud are capable of taking up and storing monoamines, which might act as neurotransmitters from the gustatory cells to the nerves.