Premium
α‐Gustducin expression in the vomeronasal organ of the mouse
Author(s) -
Zancanaro Carlo,
Caretta Carla Mucignat,
Merigo Flavia,
Cavaggioni Andrea,
Osculati Francesco
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1460-9568.1999.00912.x
Subject(s) - vomeronasal organ , biology , taste , transduction (biophysics) , neuroepithelial cell , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , olfactory system , biochemistry , stem cell , neural stem cell
The expression of α‐gustducin, a G protein α subunit involved in bitter and sweet taste transduction, was investigated in chemosensory tissues of adult mice. By immunohistochemistry, α gustducin was absent in the olfactory neuroepithelium. Instead, α gustducin was expressed in a subset of bipolar cells in the proliferative zone of the vomeronasal neuroepithelium as well as in taste buds. Northern blot analysis confirmed the presence of α gustducin in isolated vomeronasal organs. Moreover, immunohisto‐ chemistry revealed the expression of α gustducin in scattered cells of the nasal respiratory epithelium. These results show for the first time that α gustducin is expressed in chemosensory tissue outside the alimentary tract, suggesting that common transduction mechanisms could be shared by apparently unrelated chemosensory tissues.