MEMBRANE-BOUNDED INTRATUBULAR BODIES IN RAT TASTE-BUDS

The ultrastructural features of membrane-bounded bodies contained in t he tubulo-vesicular system in the outer segment of taste bud cells are described. Each body showed a round, fusiform or oval shape, was surr ounded by a trilaminar membrane and enclosed an electron dense matrix sometimes containing inclusions. These bodies were found at all ages s tudied. Similar structures were also found embedded in the material pl ugging the taste pore. Our findings suggest that these bodies could be secreted at the free surface of the cells and be involved in the conc entration of divalent cations. (C) 1998 Chapman and Hall.