Radiation Effects on Bovine Taste Bud Membranes

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Abstract
To investigate the mechanisms of radiation-induced taste loss, the effects of radiation on preparations of enriched bovine taste bud membranes were studied. Taste buds containing circumvallate papillae, and surrounding control epithelial tissue devoid of taste buds, were obtained from steers and given radiation doses of 0-7000 cGy [centigray] (rad). Tissue fractions were isolated into membrane-enriched and heterogeneous components using differential and sucrose gradient centrifugation of tissue homogenates. The yield of membranes, as measured by protein content in the buoyant membrane-enriched fractions, was reduced in quantity with increasing radiation dose. The relation between radiation dose an membrane quantity in membrane-enriched fractions could be fit by a simple exponential model with taste bud-derived membranes twice as radiosensitive as membranes from control epithelial tissue. Binding of sucrose, Na and acetate as well as fluoride stimulation of adenylate cyclase were nearly identicial in both irradiated and nonirradiated intact membranes. Radiation had no effect on fractions of heterogeneous components. While it is not clear what changes are occurring in enriched taste cell membranes, damage to membranes may play an important role in the taste loss observed in [cancer] patients following radiotherapy.

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