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Expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor group I in rat gustatory papillae

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Abstract.

Taste-metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 (taste-mGluR4) and the heteromers of T1R1 and T1R3 are candidate receptors involved in the sense of umami (monosodium glutamate) taste. Although the expression of group III mGluRs (taste-mGluR4) has been demonstrated in taste tissues, no mention has been made of the expression of group I mGluRs (mGluR1 and mGluR5) in taste tissues. We examined the expression of mGluR1 and mGluR5 in rat gustatory tissues by using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy. RT-PCR assay showed that mGluR1α and mGluR1β mRNAs were expressed in circumvallate papillae, but mGluR5 mRNA was not expressed. The positive signals of mGluR1 mRNA were detected only in circumvallate taste buds by in situ hybridization analysis. In cryosections of fungiform, foliate and circumvallate papillae, the antibody against mGluR1α gave intense labeling on the taste hairs in all taste pores examined. In the developing taste buds, the positive signals of mGluR1α in taste hairs gradually increased with the increase in number of taste bud cells. These results show that, in addition to taste-mGluR4 and the heteromer of T1R1 and T1R3, mGluR1α may function as a receptor for glutamate (umami) taste sensation.

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Fig. 1A, B.
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Fig. 3a–i.

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Acknowledgements.

We wish to thank Dr. Kei-ichi Nakayama of the Division of Cell Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, for providing the cooled CCD camera system for obtaining immunohistochemical data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral Anatomy and Neurobiology, Kyushu Dental College, Kokurakita-ku, 803-8580, Kitakyushu, Japan

    Takashi Toyono, Yuji Seta, Shinji Kataoka, Shintaro Kawano & Kuniaki Toyoshima

  2. Laboratory of Cerebral Structure, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki National Research Institutes, Myodaiji-cho, 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan

    Ryuichi Shigemoto

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  1. Takashi Toyono
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  2. Yuji Seta
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  3. Shinji Kataoka
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  4. Shintaro Kawano
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  5. Ryuichi Shigemoto
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  6. Kuniaki Toyoshima
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Correspondence to Takashi Toyono.

Additional information

This study was supported in part by a Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society and a research grant from the Society for the Research on Umami Taste

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Toyono, T., Seta, Y., Kataoka, S. et al. Expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor group I in rat gustatory papillae. Cell Tissue Res 313, 29–35 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-003-0740-2

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