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Oxytocin Signaling in Mouse Taste Buds

BACKGROUND: The neuropeptide, oxytocin (OXT), acts on brain circuits to inhibit food intake. Mutant mice lacking OXT (OXT knockout) overconsume salty and sweet (i.e. sucrose, saccharin) solutions. We asked if OXT might also act on taste buds via its receptor, OXTR. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Us...

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Autores principales: Sinclair, Michael S., Perea-Martinez, Isabel, Dvoryanchikov, Gennady, Yoshida, Masahide, Nishimori, Katsuhiko, Roper, Stephen D., Chaudhari, Nirupa
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2916830/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20700536
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011980
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author Sinclair, Michael S.
Perea-Martinez, Isabel
Dvoryanchikov, Gennady
Yoshida, Masahide
Nishimori, Katsuhiko
Roper, Stephen D.
Chaudhari, Nirupa
author_facet Sinclair, Michael S.
Perea-Martinez, Isabel
Dvoryanchikov, Gennady
Yoshida, Masahide
Nishimori, Katsuhiko
Roper, Stephen D.
Chaudhari, Nirupa
author_sort Sinclair, Michael S.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The neuropeptide, oxytocin (OXT), acts on brain circuits to inhibit food intake. Mutant mice lacking OXT (OXT knockout) overconsume salty and sweet (i.e. sucrose, saccharin) solutions. We asked if OXT might also act on taste buds via its receptor, OXTR. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using RT-PCR, we detected the expression of OXTR in taste buds throughout the oral cavity, but not in adjacent non-taste lingual epithelium. By immunostaining tissues from OXTR-YFP knock-in mice, we found that OXTR is expressed in a subset of Glial-like (Type I) taste cells, and also in cells on the periphery of taste buds. Single-cell RT-PCR confirmed this cell-type assignment. Using Ca(2+) imaging, we observed that physiologically appropriate concentrations of OXT evoked [Ca(2+)](i) mobilization in a subset of taste cells (EC(50) ∼33 nM). OXT-evoked responses were significantly inhibited by the OXTR antagonist, L-371,257. Isolated OXT-responsive taste cells were neither Receptor (Type II) nor Presynaptic (Type III) cells, consistent with our immunofluorescence observations. We also investigated the source of OXT peptide that may act on taste cells. Both RT-PCR and immunostaining suggest that the OXT peptide is not produced in taste buds or in their associated nerves. Finally, we also examined the morphology of taste buds from mice that lack OXTR. Taste buds and their constituent cell types appeared very similar in mice with two, one or no copies of the OXTR gene. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that OXT elicits Ca(2+) signals via OXTR in murine taste buds. OXT-responsive cells are most likely a subset of Glial-like (Type I) taste cells. OXT itself is not produced locally in taste tissue and is likely delivered through the circulation. Loss of OXTR does not grossly alter the morphology of any of the cell types contained in taste buds. Instead, we speculate that OXT-responsive Glial-like (Type I) taste bud cells modulate taste signaling and afferent sensory output. Such modulation would complement central pathways of appetite regulation that employ circulating homeostatic and satiety signals.
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spelling pubmed-29168302010-08-10 Oxytocin Signaling in Mouse Taste Buds Sinclair, Michael S. Perea-Martinez, Isabel Dvoryanchikov, Gennady Yoshida, Masahide Nishimori, Katsuhiko Roper, Stephen D. Chaudhari, Nirupa PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: The neuropeptide, oxytocin (OXT), acts on brain circuits to inhibit food intake. Mutant mice lacking OXT (OXT knockout) overconsume salty and sweet (i.e. sucrose, saccharin) solutions. We asked if OXT might also act on taste buds via its receptor, OXTR. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using RT-PCR, we detected the expression of OXTR in taste buds throughout the oral cavity, but not in adjacent non-taste lingual epithelium. By immunostaining tissues from OXTR-YFP knock-in mice, we found that OXTR is expressed in a subset of Glial-like (Type I) taste cells, and also in cells on the periphery of taste buds. Single-cell RT-PCR confirmed this cell-type assignment. Using Ca(2+) imaging, we observed that physiologically appropriate concentrations of OXT evoked [Ca(2+)](i) mobilization in a subset of taste cells (EC(50) ∼33 nM). OXT-evoked responses were significantly inhibited by the OXTR antagonist, L-371,257. Isolated OXT-responsive taste cells were neither Receptor (Type II) nor Presynaptic (Type III) cells, consistent with our immunofluorescence observations. We also investigated the source of OXT peptide that may act on taste cells. Both RT-PCR and immunostaining suggest that the OXT peptide is not produced in taste buds or in their associated nerves. Finally, we also examined the morphology of taste buds from mice that lack OXTR. Taste buds and their constituent cell types appeared very similar in mice with two, one or no copies of the OXTR gene. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that OXT elicits Ca(2+) signals via OXTR in murine taste buds. OXT-responsive cells are most likely a subset of Glial-like (Type I) taste cells. OXT itself is not produced locally in taste tissue and is likely delivered through the circulation. Loss of OXTR does not grossly alter the morphology of any of the cell types contained in taste buds. Instead, we speculate that OXT-responsive Glial-like (Type I) taste bud cells modulate taste signaling and afferent sensory output. Such modulation would complement central pathways of appetite regulation that employ circulating homeostatic and satiety signals. Public Library of Science 2010-08-05 /pmc/articles/PMC2916830/ /pubmed/20700536 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011980 Text en Sinclair et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Sinclair, Michael S.
Perea-Martinez, Isabel
Dvoryanchikov, Gennady
Yoshida, Masahide
Nishimori, Katsuhiko
Roper, Stephen D.
Chaudhari, Nirupa
Oxytocin Signaling in Mouse Taste Buds
title Oxytocin Signaling in Mouse Taste Buds
title_full Oxytocin Signaling in Mouse Taste Buds
title_fullStr Oxytocin Signaling in Mouse Taste Buds
title_full_unstemmed Oxytocin Signaling in Mouse Taste Buds
title_short Oxytocin Signaling in Mouse Taste Buds
title_sort oxytocin signaling in mouse taste buds
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2916830/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20700536
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011980
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