TNF and IL-10 in a bitter-sweet battle in taste buds
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1
Monell Chemical Senses Center, United States
Taste buds are chemosensory structures widely distributed on the surface of the oral cavity and larynx. Taste cells, exposed to the oral environment, face great challenges in defense against potential pathogens. While immune cells are rarely found in taste buds, our recent studies suggest that some immune-response-associated molecules are expressed at higher levels in taste cells than in nontaste tongue epithelial cells. It remains unclear how protective responses are regulated in taste buds. In this study, we investigated the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the posterior taste tissues. Both TNF and IL-10 were found exclusively in subsets of type II taste cells, the receptor cells for sweet, bitter and umami tastes. Further analysis revealed that TNF was co-expressed with the sweet and umami receptor T1R3, but not with the G-protein Gustducin (mostly bitter receptor cells). In contrast, IL-10 was co-expressed with Gustducin, but not with T1R3. Meanwhile, there were few taste cells co-expressed both cytokines. These data suggest that these two cytokines are produced by different populations of taste cells in the posterior taste tissues: TNF by sweet and umami cells and IL-10 by bitter cells. Furthermore, TNF receptors were expressed in all taste cells at differential levels, while IL-10 receptors were preferentially expressed in T1R3+TNF+ cells, suggesting that TNF could act on all taste cells under inflammatory conditions, while IL-10 may preferentially target TNF-producing-taste cells to limit TNF production. This study revealed a novel regulatory mechanism of inflammation in taste buds.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by NIH/NIDCD grants DC010012, DC007487 and DC011735 and NSF grant DBJ-0216310.
Keywords:
TNF,
IL-10,
cytokine,
Taste Buds,
Inflammation
Conference:
15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Milan, Italy, 22 Aug - 27 Aug, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Abstract
Topic:
Innate immunity
Citation:
Feng
P,
Chai
J,
Huang
L and
Wang
H
(2013). TNF and IL-10 in a bitter-sweet battle in taste buds.
Front. Immunol.
Conference Abstract:
15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fimmu.2013.02.00081
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Received:
08 Mar 2013;
Published Online:
22 Aug 2013.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Hong Wang, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States, hwang@monell.org