A Taste Bud Organoid-based MEA Biosensor for Taste Sensation

This study aims to develop a taste bud organoid-based biosensor for the research of taste sensation. For this, taste bud organoids were cultured and loaded onto the surface of microelectrode array (MEA) chip to explore the electrophysiological changes when taste perception occurs. In the experiment, 7-day-old C57BL6/J newborn mice were used, and the tongue epithelium was separated under an operating microscope. The single cell suspension was cultured at 37°C and 5% CO2. Then, a 64-channel MEA chip that can simultaneously record multiple-neuron firing activities was combined with taste bud organoids to record cell physiological changes under different taste stimuli, in order to reveal the role of taste buds in taste sensing. The obtained results have shown that taste cells separated from taste epithelium grown into spherical structures under 3D culture conditions. This structure is composed of multiple cells with obvious budding structure. Moreover, the multicellular spheres have been seeded on a 64-channel microelectrode array and processed with different taste stimuli. It is indicated that MEA chip can efficiently monitor the electrophysiological signals from taste bud organoids in response to various taste stimuli. In conclusion, this biosensor provides a new method for the study of taste sensation and taste bud functions.