Journal
NEURON
Volume 31, Issue 1, Pages 59-73Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/S0896-6273(01)00341-5
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NINDS NIH HHS [NS38253-01, NS 14627] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Cutaneous sensory neurons that detect noxious stimuli project to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, while those innervating muscle stretch receptors project to the ventral horn. DRG11, a paired homeodomain transcription factor, is expressed in both the developing dorsal horn and in sensory neurons, but not in the ventral spinal cord. Mouse embryos deficient in DRG11 display abnormalities in the spatio-temporal patterning of cutaneous sensory afferent fiber projections to the dorsal, but not the ventral spinal cord, as well as defects in dorsal horn morphogenesis. These early developmental abnormalities lead, in adults, to significantly attenuated sensitivity to noxious stimuli. In contrast, locomotion and sensori-motor functions appear normal. Drg11 is thus required for the formation of spatio-temporally appropriate projections from nociceptive sensory neurons to their central targets in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available