Fluorescence microscope image of a cryostat section of mouse tongue epithelium immuno-stained for all taste bud cells (red) type II taste bud cells (green)and counter-stained for DNA (blue). The image was selected for inclusion in the April 18th 2013 issue of the NIGMS Biomedical Beat that features noteworthy research results.
Biological Process: Olfaction
Anesthetized mice were perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde, tongue epithelium dissected out, frozen, and 8 micrometer cryostat sections cut. Sections were immuno-stained for all taste buds (red, anti-KCNQ1, Alexa 586) and type II taste buds (green, anti-TRPM5, Alexa 488), counter-stained with DAPI (blue), and recorded with a Zeiss LSM 710 confocal microscope equipped with 40x NA 1.1 water immersion objective lens. The image shows a single confocal plane with the red, green, and blue channels merged. See also: Akiyuki T et al. 2013. CALHM1 ion channel mediates purinergic neurotransmission of sweet, bitter and umami tastes. Nature 495:223-226.
Author: Aki yuki Taruno
Source: The Cell: An Image Library
