Expression of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) was studied by use o
f an immunocytochemical technique in the taste buds of mouse circumvallate
papillae after bilateral transection of the glossopharyngeal nerves. In unt
reated mice, innervated type-III cells reacted with anti-NCAM antibody. Aft
er denervation the taste buds gradually decreased in number and size, and w
ere practically absent within 11 days. In parallel, NCAM-reactive cells dec
reased at 3 and 8 days after surgery and at 11 days they were no longer fou
nd. Three days after denervarion, synaptic contacts between type-m cells an
d nerve fibres were not found because of the disappearance of nerve fibres.
However, remaining type-III cells, characterized with dense-cored vesicles
, still maintained NCAM expression on their plasma membrane until day 8.