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Lookup NU author(s): Fiona Shenton
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Stretch-activated afferent neurons, such as those of mammalian muscle spindles, are essential for proprioception and motor co-ordination, but the underlying mechanisms of mechanotransduction are poorly understood. The dorsal bipolar dendritic (dbd) sensory neurons are putative stretch receptors in the Drosophila larval body wall. We have developed an in vivo protocol to obtain receptor potential recordings from intact dbd neurons in response to stretch. Receptor potential changes in dbd neurons in response to stretch showed a complex, dynamic profile with similar characteristics to those previously observed for mammalian muscle spindles. These profiles were reproduced by a general in silico model of stretch-activated neurons. This in silico model predicts an essential role for a mechanosensory cation channel (MSC) in all aspects of receptor potential generation. Using pharmacological and genetic techniques, we identified the mechanosensory channel, DmPiezo, in this functional role in dbd neurons, with TRPA1 playing a subsidiary role. We also show that rat muscle spindles exhibit a ruthenium red-sensitive current, but found no expression evidence to suggest that this corresponds to Piezo activity. In summary, we show that the dbd neuron is a stretch receptor and demonstrate that this neuron is a tractable model for investigating mechanisms of mechanotransduction.
Author(s): Suslak TJ, Watson S, Thompson KJ, Shenton FC, Bewick GS, Armstrong JD, Jarman AP
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: PLoS One
Year: 2015
Volume: 10
Issue: 7
Online publication date: 17/07/2015
Acceptance date: 27/05/2015
Date deposited: 20/04/2016
ISSN (electronic): 1932-6203
Publisher: Public Library of Science
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130969
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130969
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