Expression of taste cell markers in circumvallate papillae of wild-type (WT), Ghrelin^−/− and GOAT^−/− mice.

(A), (B), (C), and (D) are high magnification representative fluorescent images of the different taste cell markers (NTPDase2, PLCβ2, NCAM, and Shh). The inset boxes in each image indicate a low magnification field view of the circumvallate papillae. The histograms associated with each taste bud figure represent the percentage of cells containing each marker out of the total number of cells in each taste bud. Values are expressed as means ± SEM. n = 3–4/group. Bars in each high magnification image are 10 µm; bars in each inset box are 50 µm.