Expressing TrkC from the TrkA locus causes a subset of dorsal root ganglia neurons to switch fate.
Tactile information is perceived by a heterogeneous population of specialized neurons. Neurotrophin receptors (the receptor tyrosine kinases, Trks) mark the major classes of these sensory neurons: TrkA is expressed in neurons that sense temperature and noxious stimuli, and TrkC is expressed in proprioceptive neurons that sense body position. Neurotrophin signaling through these receptors is required for cell survival. To test whether neurotrophins have an instructive role in sensory specification, we expressed rat TrkC from the TrkA (also known as Ntrk1) locus in mice. The surviving presumptive TrkA-expressing neurons adopted a proprioceptive phenotype, indicating that neurotrophin signaling can specify sensory neuron subtypes.
Moqrich
Aziz
A
Department of Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
Earley
Taryn J
TJ
Watson
James
J
Andahazy
Mary
M
Backus
Carey
C
Martin-Zanca
Dionisio
D
Wright
Douglas E
DE
Reichardt
Louis F
LF
Patapoutian
Ardem
A
D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000502:physiology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D020917:Receptor, trkA / Q000235:genetics*; D020812:Receptor, trkC / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D020917:Receptor, trkA; D020812:Receptor, trkC