Taste buds in the vallate papillae of the rat studied with freeze-fracture preparation.

The taste bud of the vallate papillae of the rat has been examined in the electron microscope by using the freeze-fracture technique. Tight junctions as a junctional complex are located at the taste pore, and form a seal between the oral environment and the taste buds. Tight junctions are not only within the taste buds, but also are demonstrated in the granular cell layers of the surrounding lingual epithelium. The present finding suggests that tight junctions of the taste pore link with those of the lingual epithelium. Desmosomes are observed in the buds, but they are smaller in size than in the surrounding lingual epithelium. Besides these junctions, within the buds, gap junctions containing particle-free zones are demonstrated which are called a subcompartment type.