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Chem. Senses 28: 827-833, 2003
© Oxford University Press 2003

Electrophysiological Heterogeneity in a Functional Subset of Mouse Taste Cells during Postnatal Development

Valeria Ghiaroni, Francesca Fieni, Pierangelo Pietra and Albertino Bigiani

Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Sezione di Fisiologia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, 41100 Modena, Italy

Correspondence to be sent to: Dr Albertino Bigiani, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Sezione di Fisiologia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via Campi 287, 41100 Modena, Italy. e-mail: bigiani{at}unimore.it

Taste cells in adult mammals are functionally heterogeneous as to the expression of ion channels. How these adult phenotypes are established during postnatal development, however, is not yet clear. We have addressed this issue by studying voltage-gated K+ and Cl– currents (IK and ICl, respectively) in developing taste cells of the mouse vallate papilla. IK and ICl underlie action potential waveform and firing properties, and play an important role in taste transduction. By using the patch clamp technique, we analyzed these currents in a specific group of cells, called Na/OUT cells and thought to be sensory. In adult mice, three different electrophysiological phenotypes of Na/OUT cells could be detected: cells with IK (K cells); cells with both IK and ICl (K+Cl cells); and cells with ICl (Cl cells). In contrast, at early developmental stages (2–4 postnatal days, PD) there were no Cl cells, which appeared at PD 8. Our findings indicate a mechanism that contributes to building-up the functional heterogeneity of mammalian taste cells during the postnatal development.

Key words: ion currents, gustatory, patch-clamp, vallate papilla


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