Paradigm‐shift of the stem cell niche of taste buds cells

上皮干细胞最初被认为是制造分泌唾液和口腔粘膜的腺体。在这里，我们认为这些干细胞也能使舌头周围、上颌后部和喉咙周围的细胞感受味道。我们观察到这些细胞具有非常缓慢的细胞生长速度和几种基因的表达，这些基因被称为干细胞的特征。此外，具有这些基因的口腔粘膜细胞也被认为在形成牙根的干细胞中发挥重要作用。

The epithelial stem cells that originally have been thought to make glands that secrete saliva and mucous membranes of the mouth. Here, we suggest that these stem cells also make cellsfeeling the taste in the mouth that locate around the tongue, back part of the upper jaw and throat. We observed that these cells have the very slow rate of cell growth and the expression ofseveral genes that is known ascharacteristic feature of the stem cells. Further, the cells of themucosa of the mouth with such genes was also suggested to play an important role as a stem cell to make the tooth roots.