Fig. 1.

Nerve-dependent maintenance of organized Hedgehog signaling in adult taste buds. (A) Taste receptor cells (TRCs) reside within taste buds of the circumvallate papilla and fungiform papillae. Fungiform papilla receives innervation from geniculate ganglion through the chorda tympani nerve. (B) Genetic marking of Hedgehog-responsive cells. Epifluorescence imaging of a tongue from Gli1^CreER/+;R26^ZsGreen/+ mouse, 1 wk after tamoxifen injection. (Scale bar: 1 mm.) Inset shows circumvallate papilla. (Scale bar: 100 μm.) (C) Immunofluorescence staining of β-galactosidase (green), K8 (red), and DAPI (blue) of peeled epithelium from Gli1^LacZ/+ mice (see Fig. S1 for more details). (D) Reduced βgal and K8 staining 5 d after chorda tympani nerve transection. Inset shows an overexposed βgal staining. See Fig. S2 for quantifications. [Scale bars: 100 μm (C); 10 μm (D).]