Medicinal Chemistry

Stem Cell in Lingual Epithelia and Papillae

Abstract

Feng Li

In mammalian tongue, all the compartments of the lingual epithelium are turned over throughout adult life. There is a continual requirement for proliferation to replace cells lost by differentiation within each compartment. In contrast to remarkably elucidating to the molecular basis for taste perception, too little is known about the mechanism of lingual epithelium and papillae. In this article, we briefly summarize what is known about the different stem cell compartments in lingual epithelium and papillae, and discuss the evidence for existence of stem cell in lingual epithelium and taste bud. We then consider a new model of homeostasis in lingual epithelium and papillae, in which tissue maintenance depends on multiple-stem cell population. Problems revealed by the application of epigenetic marker are also discussed.