Krimm R F, Hill D L
Department of Pathology, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington 40507, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 1998 Aug 17;398(1):13-24.
To determine whether the innervation of taste buds changes during postnatal development, the number of geniculate ganglion cells that innervated single fungiform taste buds were quantified in the tip- and midregions of the tongue of adult and developing rats. There was substantial variation in both the size of individual taste buds and number of geniculate ganglion cells that innervated them. Importantly, taste bud morphology and innervation were highly related. Namely, the number of labeled geniculate ganglion cells that innervated a taste bud was highly correlated with the size of the taste bud (r = 0.91, P < .0003): The larger the taste bud, the more geniculate ganglion cells that innervated it. The relationship between ganglion cell number and taste bud volume emerged during the first 40 days postnatal. Whereas there was no difference in the average number of ganglion cells that innervated individual taste buds in rats aged 10 days postnatal through adulthood, taste bud volumes increased progressively between 10 and 40 days postnatal, at which age taste bud volumes were similar to adults. The maturation of taste bud size was accompanied by the emergence of the relationship between taste bud volume and number of innervating neurons. Specifically, there was no correlation between taste bud size and number of innervating geniculate ganglion cells in 10-, 20-, or 30-day-old rats, whereas taste bud size and the number of innervating ganglion cells in 40-day-old rats were positively correlated (r = .80, P < .002). Therefore, the relationship between taste bud size and number of innervating ganglion cells develops over a prolonged postnatal period and is established when taste buds grow to their adult size.
为了确定味蕾的神经支配在出生后发育过程中是否发生变化，对成年和发育中大鼠舌前端和中部支配单个菌状味蕾的膝状神经节细胞数量进行了量化。单个味蕾的大小和支配它们的膝状神经节细胞数量都存在很大差异。重要的是，味蕾形态与神经支配高度相关。也就是说，支配一个味蕾的标记膝状神经节细胞数量与味蕾大小高度相关（r = 0.91，P <.0003）：味蕾越大，支配它的膝状神经节细胞就越多。神经节细胞数量与味蕾体积之间的关系在出生后的前40天出现。虽然在出生后10天到成年的大鼠中，支配单个味蕾的神经节细胞平均数量没有差异，但味蕾体积在出生后10天到40天之间逐渐增加，在这个年龄味蕾体积与成年时相似。味蕾大小的成熟伴随着味蕾体积与支配神经元数量之间关系的出现。具体而言，在10日龄、20日龄或30日龄的大鼠中，味蕾大小与支配膝状神经节细胞数量之间没有相关性，而在40日龄的大鼠中，味蕾大小与支配神经节细胞数量呈正相关（r =.80，P <.002）。因此，味蕾大小与支配神经节细胞数量之间的关系在出生后的较长时期内发展，并在味蕾生长到成年大小时建立。
