Journal
EMBO JOURNAL
Volume 29, Issue 4, Pages 855-867Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/emboj.2009.398
Keywords
extracellular matrix; ion channels; laminin; mechanotransduction; proteases
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Funding
- Deutsche Forschunsggemeinschaft
- von Humboldt fellowship
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The gating of ion channels by mechanical force underlies the sense of touch and pain. The mode of gating of mechanosensitive ion channels in vertebrate touch receptors is unknown. Here we show that the presence of a protein link is necessary for the gating of mechanosensitive currents in all low-threshold mechanoreceptors and some nociceptors of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Using TEM, we demonstrate that a protein filament with of length similar to 100 nm is synthesized by sensory neurons and may link mechanosensitive ion channels in sensory neurons to the extracellular matrix. Brief treatment of sensory neurons with non-specific and site-specific endopeptidases destroys the protein tether and abolishes mechanosensitive currents in sensory neurons without affecting electrical excitability. Protease-sensitive tethers are also required for touch-receptor function in vivo. Thus, unlike the majority of nociceptors, cutaneous mechanoreceptors require a distinct protein tether to transduce mechanical stimuli. The EMBO Journal (2010) 29, 855-867. doi: 10.1038/emboj.2009.398; Published online 14 January 2010
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