ABSTRACT
Tuft cells are highly specialized epithelial cells with distinct transcriptional profiles and biological functions. Recent studies have revealed that tuft cells are widely existed in a range of tissues, including digestive system, respiratory system and periodontal tissues, playing essential roles in mediating host-microbial interaction and initiating type Ⅱ immune response. Although tuft cells share many commons regarding their morphological characteristics and expression profiles, emerging evidence indicates that tuft cells possess a certain degree of heterogeneity in different tissues or loci. Of note, tuft cells consistently express a variety of taste receptors and their downstream signal transduction machineries to detect and respond a wide range of chemicals in the microenvironment or bacterial metabolites. This review discussed the molecular basis of taste signal transduction and biological functions of tuft cells in different tissues.