Rapid structural remodeling of peripheral taste fibers is independent of taste cell turnover

This remodeling is faster than predicted by taste bud cell renewal, with terminal branches added and lost concurrently. Surprisingly, blocking entry of new taste bud cells with chemotherapeutic agents revealed that remodeling of the terminal branches on taste arbors does not rely on the renewal of taste bud cells. Although terminal branch remodeling was fast and intrinsically controlled, no new arbors were added to taste buds, and few were lost over 100 days.

Taste ganglion neurons maintain a stable number of arbors that are each capable of high-speed remodeling. We propose that terminal branch plasticity permits arbors to locate new taste bud cells, while stability of arbor number supports constancy in the degree of connectivity and function for each neuron over time.