Uptake of 5-Hydroxytryptophan by Gustatory Cells in the Mouse Taste Bud

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Abstract
Monoamines in the taste bud cells of the mouse circumvallate papilla were studied by fluorescence histochemistry and EM. With administration of 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) after a pretreatment with nialamide, yellow fluorescence appeared in some of the taste bud cells; no fluorescence was observed in untreated, L-dopa treated or serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine] treated mice. EM study after treatment with nialamide and 5-HTP showed small dense-cored vesicles intermingled with small clear vesicles (30-60 nm in diameter) accumulated at the membranes of the gustatory cells in typical afferent synaptic contacts with nerve terminals. Definite ultrastructural change in large dense-cored vesicles (70-100 nm in diameter) was not observed. Apparently the gustatory cells of the mouse take up 5-HTP and convert it to serotonin. The synaptic vesicles in the gustatory cells may be capable of storing and releasing serotonin, which presumably acts as the neurotransmitter involved in the impulse transmission from the gustatory cells to the sensory nerve fibers.

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