Figure 1

Circumvallate taste buds contain distinct populations of Type II and Type III taste cells. Laser scanning confocal micrograph of a longitudinal section through circumvallate taste buds in a transgenic mouse expressing GFP from the TrpM5 promoter, which labels Type II taste cells (green). Type III cells are labeled with an antibody against SNAP-25, a presynaptic protein (red). Taste buds also contain Type I 'glial-like' cells, which are unlabeled and thus not visible. Taste buds consist of 50 to 100 taste cells that are roughly 10 μm across and about 100 μm in height. Taste stimuli contact the apical (top) tips of the cells, while afferent nerve fibers contact the basolateral (lower) portions of the taste cells. Image modified from [2].