Mouse Taste Buds Use Serotonin as a Neurotransmitter

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4446-04.2005
• Publication Date: 2005-01-27T03:05:19Z
• Authors: Yi-Jen Huang; Yutaka Maruyama; Kuo-Shyan Lu; Elizabeth Pereira; Ilya Plonsky; John E. Baur; Dianqing Wu; Stephen D. Roper
• Keywords: Taste bud; Taste receptor

Synapses between gustatory receptor cells and primary sensory afferent fibers transmit the output signal from taste buds to CNS. Several transmitter candidates have been proposed for these synapses, including serotonin (5-HT), glutamate, acetylcholine, ATP, peptides, others, but, date, none has unambiguously identified. We used Chinese hamster ovary stably expressing 5-HT 2C receptors as biodetectors monitor release buds. When were depolarized with KCl or stimulated bitter, sweet, sour (acid) tastants, was released. KCl- acid-induced release, but not attributable sweet bitter stimulation, required Ca 2+ influx. In contrast, evoked by stimulation seemed be triggered intracellular release. These experiments strongly implicate a bud neurotransmitter reveal unexpected mechanisms.