Foliate Taste Bud Volume Following Chorda Tympani Nerve Injury in Rats
Advisor Information
Suzanne Sollars
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
3-3-2017 9:00 AM
End Date
3-3-2017 10:15 AM
Abstract
When the chorda tympani nerve is cut (CTX) in neonatal rats, there is a permanent reduction in fungiform taste bud volume and the nerve does not regenerate. This is in contrast to when CTX is performed in adult rats, in which taste bud loss is transient and the CT nerve regenerates. While the effects of CT nerve injury on taste buds located in fungiform papillae have been well studied, the present study investigated the impact of CTX on taste bud volume in foliate papillae. The foliate papillae are located bilaterally toward the back of the tongue. The CT nerve innervates taste buds in the anterior portion of foliate papillae. CTX was performed on rats at 10, 25, and 65 days of age, and they were sacrificed post surgery at either 8, 16, or 50 days of age. Tongues were extracted, flash frozen, sectioned using a cryostat, and then stained using hematoxylin and eosin stains for taste bud visualization. Taste bud volumes were measured using a microscope and Neurolucida software (MBF Bioscience). Results are ongoing. We hypothesize that severing the CT nerve in young rats will lead to a permanent reduction in foliate taste bud volume consistent with previous work showing the most severe effects of neural injury occur in young rats.
Foliate Taste Bud Volume Following Chorda Tympani Nerve Injury in Rats
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
When the chorda tympani nerve is cut (CTX) in neonatal rats, there is a permanent reduction in fungiform taste bud volume and the nerve does not regenerate. This is in contrast to when CTX is performed in adult rats, in which taste bud loss is transient and the CT nerve regenerates. While the effects of CT nerve injury on taste buds located in fungiform papillae have been well studied, the present study investigated the impact of CTX on taste bud volume in foliate papillae. The foliate papillae are located bilaterally toward the back of the tongue. The CT nerve innervates taste buds in the anterior portion of foliate papillae. CTX was performed on rats at 10, 25, and 65 days of age, and they were sacrificed post surgery at either 8, 16, or 50 days of age. Tongues were extracted, flash frozen, sectioned using a cryostat, and then stained using hematoxylin and eosin stains for taste bud visualization. Taste bud volumes were measured using a microscope and Neurolucida software (MBF Bioscience). Results are ongoing. We hypothesize that severing the CT nerve in young rats will lead to a permanent reduction in foliate taste bud volume consistent with previous work showing the most severe effects of neural injury occur in young rats.