Expression of purinergic receptors in mouse taste buds

Each taste bud (a taste sensor) in mouse tongues consists of ∼50 taste bud cells (TBCs) that express various neurotransmitter receptors on their basolateral membranes. We investigated the expression of ATP receptor subtypes with neurophysiological, molecular biological, and immunohistochemical techniques. Here we show that TBCs expressed P2X2, P2X7 and P2Y1 subtypes. These results showed that ATP probably released from TBCs or taste nerves during taste responses could finely regulate the functions of neighbouring TBCs by stimulating their heterogeneous ATP receptor subtypes. Such interactions among TBCs may form cell networks within single taste buds and may process taste information on the tongue.