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NCAM expression by subsets of taste cells is dependent upon innervation
Author(s) -
Smith David V.,
Akeson Richard A.,
Shipley Michael T.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.903360403
Subject(s) - neural cell adhesion molecule , lingual papilla , taste bud , polysialic acid , biology , taste , monoclonal antibody , epitope , taste receptor , glossopharyngeal nerve , immunocytochemistry , immunohistochemistry , epithelium , microbiology and biotechnology , antibody , immunology , endocrinology , cell , cell adhesion , biochemistry , genetics , stimulation , vagus nerve
The expression of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and distinct carbohydrate groups by cells of the taste buds of the rat vallate papilla was investigated by immunohistochemical and biochemical techniques. We employed antibodies against (1) the extracellular (mAb 3F4) and cytoplasmic (mAb 5B8) portions of the NCAM polypeptide, (2) the highly sialylated form of NCAM (mAb 5A5), (3) carbohydrate epitopes associated with glycosylated NCAM forms in the rat (mAb 2B8) or frog (mAb 9‐OE) olfactory system, and also (4) the Lewis b blood group carbohydrate epitope (mAb CO431). NCAM mRNA was demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in samples of the vallate papilla, suggesting the presence of NCAM in cells of the taste buds. Antibodies against NCAM (mAbs 3F4 and 5B8) recognized a subset (about 20%) of cells within the vallate taste buds; fibers of the glossopharyngeal nerve, including those innervating the gustatory epithelium, were NCAM immunoreactive. Taste bud cells did not express polysialic acid (mAb 5A5), but mAb 5A5 immunoreactivity was observed on fibers of the IXth nerve, including a few that entered the taste buds. All or nearly all of the cells within the vallate taste buds were immunoreactive to mAb 2B8, whereas mAbs 9‐OE and CO431 reacted with subsets of cells. The carbohydrates recognized by mAbs 2B8 and 9‐OE were also abundantly expressed in the ducts and acini of the lingual salivary glands. Bilateral crush of the IXth nerve resulted in the loss of expression of all of these molecules from the gustatory epithelium. If cells of the taste bud express NCAM during their final stage(s) of differentiation, then NCAM could play a role(s) in the growth of gustatory axons toward their target epithelial cells and in the recognition between the nerve fibers and mature taste receptor cells, or among the taste bud cells themselves. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.