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The Interplay Between Taste and Chemesthesis

Chemosensory afferent fibers, which contribute to chemesthesis, the general chemical sensitivity of the mucus membranes in the oronasal cavities and being perceived as pungency, irritation or heat, innervating taste buds store transmitters such as calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) but little is known about their function. The complex interplay between taste cells and chemosensory neurons, via transmitters, may play an important role during the processing of the complex stimuli involving both spicy and tasty components. In this study, we characterized CGRP receptors present on taste cells. These receptors appear to underlie the postulated efferent transmission. Specifically, we loaded mouse vallate taste cells with Fura 2, conducted functional imaging, and used cellular biosensors to monitor taste‐evoked transmitter (ATP) release. The findings are that a significant fraction of Presynaptic (Type III) taste bud cells (53%) respond to CGRP, but that only few Receptor (Type II) taste cells (4%) are activated by this transmitter. We demonstrated that this effect of CGRP was dependent on phospholipase C activation. Consistent with these results, applying CGRP elicited taste buds to secrete serotonin (5‐HT), a Presynaptic (Type III) taste cell transmitter. Furthermore, CGRP‐evoked 5‐HT release inhibited taste buds and reduced their ability to secrete transmitter (ATP) during gustatory stimulation. We conclude that the net effect of CGRP as an efferent transmitter in taste buds is inhibitory—i.e., CGRP acts via serotonergic mechanisms to shape peripheral taste signals during processing gustatory information in taste buds.