Project description:RNAseq was employed to profile taste progenitors (SOX2-GFPhigh) and non-taste epithelial progenitors (SOX2-GFPlow) at the onset of taste cell renewal at birth. This dataset was acquired via FACS of SOX2-GFP+ epithelial cells from SOX2gfp/+ mouse pups at P0.
Project description:Embryonic taste bud primordia are specified as taste placodes on the tongue surface and differentiate into the first taste receptor cells (TRCs) at birth. Throughout adult life, TRCs are continually regenerated from epithelial progenitors. Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling regulates TRC development and renewal, repressing taste fate embryonically, but promoting TRC differentiation in adults. Here, using mouse models, we show TRC renewal initiates at birth and coincides with onset of SHHs pro-taste function. Using transcriptional profiling to explore molecular regulators of renewal, we identified Foxa1 and Foxa2 as potential SHH target genes in lingual progenitors at birth and show that SHH overexpression in vivo alters FoxA1 and FoxA2 expression relevant to taste buds. We further bioinformatically identify genes relevant to cell adhesion and cell locomotion likely regulated by FOXA1;FOXA2 and show that expression of these candidates is also altered by forced SHH expression. We present a new model where SHH promotes TRC differentiation by regulating changes in epithelial cell adhesion and migration.
Project description:Taste stem/progenitor cells from the mouse posterior tongue have been recently used to generate taste bud organoids. However, the inaccessible location of the taste receptor cells is observed in conventional organoids. Here, we established a suspension culture method for fine tuning of taste bud organoid by apicobasal polarity alteration to form the accessible localization of taste receptor cells in organoid. Compared to conventional Matrigel-embedded organoids, suspension-cultured organoids showed comparable differentiation and renewal rates to those of taste buds in vivo and exhibited functional taste receptor cells and cycling progenitor cells. Accessible taste receptor cells on the outer region of taste bud organoids enabled the direct application of calcium imaging for evaluating the taste response. Moreover, suspension-cultured organoids could be genetically altered using gene editing methods. Suspension-cultured taste bud organoid harmoniously integrated with the recipient lingual epithelium; maintained the taste receptor cells and gustatory innervation capacity. Thus, we propose that suspension-cultured organoids may provide efficient model for taste research including taste bud development, regeneration and transplantation
Project description:To uncover novel molecules involved in taste detection, we performed a microarray-based screen for genes enriched in taste neurons. Proboscis RNA from flies homozygous for a recessive poxn null mutation was compared to RNA from heterozygous controls. Poxn mutants have a transformation of labellar gustatory chemosensory bristles into mechanosensory bristles and therefore lack most or all taste neurons. Experiment Overall Design: Proboscises of poxn70 homozygous mutant and poxn70 heterozygous mutant males (8-18 days post eclosure) were dissected, and total RNA was harvested in Trizol according to standard trizol protocol. Samples for each microarray were prepared from 164-280 proboscises. We performed 3 biological replicates for each genotype.
Project description:The sense of taste starts with activation of receptor cells in taste buds by chemical stimuli which then communicate this signal via innervating oral sensory neurons to the CNS. The cell bodies of oral sensory neurons reside in the geniculate ganglion (GG) and nodose/petrosal/jugular ganglion. The geniculate ganglion contains two main neuronal populations, BRN3A+ somatosensory neurons that innervate the pinna, and PHOX2B+ sensory neurons that innervate the oral cavity. While much is known about the different taste bud cell subtypes, much less is known about the molecular identities of PHOX2B+ sensory subpopulations. In the GG as many as 12 different subpopulations have been predicted from electrophysiological studies, while transcriptional identities exist for only 3-6. Importantly, the cell fate pathways that diversify PHOX2B+ oral sensory neurons into these subpopulations are unknown. The transcription factor EGR4 was identified as being highly expressed in GG neurons. EGR4 deletion causes GG oral sensory neurons to lose their expression of PHOX2B and other oral sensory genes, and upregulate BRN3A. This is followed by a severe loss of chemosensory innervation of taste buds, a loss of Type II taste cells responsive to bitter, sweet, and umami stimuli, and a concomitant increase in Type I glial-like taste bud cells. These deficits culminate in a loss of nerve responses to sweet and umami taste qualities. Taken together, we identify a critical role of EGR4 in cell fate specification and maintenance of subpopulations of GG neurons, which in turn maintain the appropriate sweet and umami taste receptor cells.
Project description:Previously we showed that taste receptor cells in situ in taste buds synthesize insulin. Here we describe a model of pig taste organoid culture in which we have promoted insulin expression by induction of quiescence. The cellular heterogeneity of the lingual epithelium is maintained in the organoids, and stem cell type and organoid architecture can be controlled through changes in media composition and/or use of static versus dynamic culture. Pig taste organoids were maintained long term and organoids cultured in low sheer stress dynamic exhibited an architecture and expression profile akin to the native tissue. Porcine taste organoids also contained insulin, and the insulin critical transcription factors MAFA and PAX4. These results provide a pig model of taste organoid culture that can be used universally and bring us closer to the use of the taste tissue as a new renewable source of beta cells
Project description:To understand the mechanisms that regulate the renewal and maintenance of taste cells we performed RNA-sequencing analysis on isolated taste cells from 2 and 6 month old mice to determine how alterations in the taste cell-transcriptome regulate taste cell maintenance and function in adults. We found that the Activator Protein-1 (AP1) transcription factors (c-Fos, Fosb and c-Jun) and genes associated with this pathway were significantly downregulated in taste cells from 6 month old mice and further declined at 12 months. We generated conditional c-Fos- knockout mice to target K14-expressing cells, including differentiating taste cells. c-Fos deletion caused a severe perturbation in taste bud structure and resulted in a significant reduction in the taste bud size. c-Fos deletion also affected taste cell turnover as evident by, a decrease in proliferative markers, and upregulation of the apoptotic marker cleaved-PARP. Thus, AP1 factors are important regulators of adult taste cell renewal and their downregulation negatively impacts taste maintenance. Comparison of genes responsible for peripheral Taste system maintenance at age, 3 and 6 months. processed_data.txt: List of B vs S gene expression data gene_exp.diff: cuffdiff data for 2 and 6 month taste cells