Altered peripheral taste function in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease.

Increased sugar intake and taste dysfunction have been reported in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic disorder characterized by diarrhea, pain, weight loss and fatigue. It was previously unknown whether taste function changes in mouse models of IBD. Mice consumed dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) during three 7-day cycles to induce chronic colitis.

Altered peripheral taste function in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease.

Increased sugar intake and taste dysfunction have been reported in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic disorder characterized by diarrhea, pain, weight loss and fatigue. It was previously unknown whether taste function changes in mouse models of IBD. Mice consumed dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) during three 7-day cycles to induce chronic colitis.

Interleukin (IL)-1 Receptor Signaling Is Required for Complete Taste Bud Regeneration and the Recovery of Neural Taste Responses following Axotomy.

Experimental or traumatic nerve injury causes the degeneration of associated taste buds. Unlike most sensory systems, the sectioned nerve and associated taste buds can then regenerate, restoring neural responses to tastants. It was previously unknown whether injury-induced immune factors mediate this process.

A possible role for taste receptor cells in surveying the oral microbiome.

Taste receptor cells are sensory specialists that detect chemicals in food and drink. An exciting new report in PLOS Biology suggests that some taste cells could also be involved in immune surveillance like counterparts in the intestine.

Behavioral and neurophysiological taste responses to sweet and salt are diminished in a model of subclinical intestinal inflammation.

There is strong evidence for gut-taste bud interactions that influence taste function, behavior and feeding. However, the effect of gut inflammation on this axis is unknown despite reports of taste changes in gastrointestinal (GI) inflammatory conditions. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an inflammatory stimulus derived from gram-negative bacteria, is present in the normal GI tract and levels increase during high-fat feeding and gut infection and inflammation.

Regression of Lingual Lymphatic Vessels in Sodium-restricted Mice.

Lymphatic vessel networks can expand and regress, with consequences for interstitial fluid drainage and nutrient supply to tissues, inflammation, and tumor spread. A diet high in sodium stimulates hyperplasia of cutaneous lymphatic capillaries. We hypothesized that dietary sodium restriction would have the opposite effect, shrinking lymphatic capillaries in the tongue.

Inflammatory stimuli acutely modulate peripheral taste function.

Inflammation-mediated changes in taste perception can affect health outcomes in patients, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. In the present work, we hypothesized that proinflammatory cytokines directly modulate Na(+) transport in taste buds. To test this, we measured acute changes in Na(+) flux in polarized fungiform taste buds loaded with a Na(+) indicator dye.

Functional role for interleukin-1 in the injured peripheral taste system.

The peripheral taste system presents an excellent model for studying the consequences of neural injury, for the damaged nerve and sensory cells and the neighboring, intact neural cells. Sectioning a primary afferent nerve, the chorda tympani (CT), rapidly recruits neutrophils to both sides of the tongue. The bilateral neutrophil response induces transient functional deficits in the intact CT.

Rapid changes in gustatory function induced by contralateral nerve injury and sodium depletion.

The combination of dietary sodium depletion and unilateral chorda tympani (CT) nerve section decreases sodium taste function in the intact CT nerve. However, functional changes have not been examined prior to day 4 postsectioning, even though degenerative and inflammatory responses are robust during that period. Rats received unilateral CT section and/or dietary sodium depletion, accomplished by 2 injections of furosemide and a sodium-restricted diet, on day 0.

Upregulation of the chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 following unilateral nerve injury in the peripheral taste system.

Macrophages are recruited to both sides of the tongue following unilateral chorda tympani (CT) nerve injury. The mechanisms responsible for recruiting these macrophages to the peripheral taste system are unknown. Neural degeneration in other systems leads to the upregulation of small molecules that function as chemoattractant cytokines, or chemokines.

Upregulation of intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 after unilateral nerve injury in the peripheral taste system.

In the peripheral taste system, activated macrophages are recruited to both sides of the tongue after unilateral sectioning of the chorda tympani nerve (CT). Neural degeneration elicits macrophage entry in other systems by upregulating vascular adhesion molecules. We hypothesized that CT sectioning leads to a bilateral increase in intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 expression on lingual vessels.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced up-regulation of activated macrophages in the degenerating taste system.

Unilateral chorda tympani (CT) nerve section and maintenance on a sodium-restricted diet leads to a rapid decrease in neurophysiological taste responses to sodium in the contralateral, intact CT nerve. Up-regulation of immune function with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 100 microg i.p.

Up-regulation of activated macrophages in response to degeneration in the taste system: effects of dietary sodium restriction.

Dietary sodium restriction combined with unilateral chorda tympani nerve section leads to a rapid and specific decrease in neurophysiological taste responses to sodium in the contralateral, intact chorda tympani (Hill and Phillips [1994] J. Neurosci. 14:2904-2910).

Sensitive periods for the effect of dietary sodium restriction on intact and denervated taste receptor cells.

Unilateral chorda tympani nerve (CT) section combined with dietary sodium restriction leads to striking alterations in sodium taste function. The regenerated rat CT exhibits deficits in sodium sensitivity, and surprisingly, there are also functional alterations in the intact, contralateral nerve. The studies presented here describe the functional "sensitive periods" for these aberrations and the number of taste buds present during corresponding stages.