Figure 4.

Expression of leptin receptor (Ob-R) in the taste cells of circumvallate papillae in BALB mice. (a) Expression of mRNA for the common region of Ob-R (478 bp), specific for Ob-Rb (413 bp), for Ggust (1.07 kbp), and for β-actin (543 bp) in the circumvallate papillae (CP) and the tongue epithelium (ET) with no taste papillae. Although mRNA for β-actin (543 bp) was detected in both CP and ET, mRNAs for Ob-Rs and Ggust were detected only in CP. (b) Immunostaining of Ob-R with antibodies binding to common region of all types of Ob-R in circumvallate papillae. Immunoreactivity was found in some spindle-shaped cells in taste buds (arrows in 1) but not in control section (2), which was stained without the primary antibody.