NEW PERSPECTIVES IN GUSTATORY PHYSIOLOGY - TRANSDUCTION, DEVELOPMENT,AND PLASTICITY

Major advances in the understanding of mammalian gustatory transductio n mechanisms have occurred in the past decade. Recent research has rev ealed that a remarkable diversity of cellular mechanisms are involved in taste stimulus reception. These mechanisms range from G protein- an d second messenger-linked receptor systems to stimulus-gated and stimu lus-admitting ion channels. Contrary to widely held ideas, new data sh ow that some taste stimuli interact with receptive sites that are loca lized on both the apical and basolateral membranes of taste cells. Stu dies of taste system development in several species indicate that the transduction pathways for some stimuli are modulated significantly dur ing the early postnatal period. In addition, recent investigations of adult peripheral gustatory system plasticity strongly suggest that the function of the Nai sensing system can be modulated by circulating ho rmones, growth factors, or cytokines.