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Budding Flavours
22 May 2017

Budding Flavours

“Food glorious food”, as the song goes in the film Oliver. What makes it glorious are the many flavour sensations we can enjoy. This is possible because of little lumps and bumps on our tongues called taste papillae (pictured). At their tops sit taste buds, which detect flavours. Over time our taste buds wear out and are replaced. This is made possible by cells (green) of the papillae dividing to restore the buds. Researchers have now found the collection of proteins – known as the Hedeghog pathway – in these cells that work together to make this happen. By blocking the pathway’s activity in mice, they found that the papillae changed shape and taste buds disappeared. When the blockade was removed, the taste buds came back. This helps explain why cancer patients lose their ability to taste when treated with drugs targeting the Hedgehog pathway.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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