title: RETouching upon mechanoreceptors.
abstract: The rapidly adapting (RA) low-threshold mechanoreceptors respond to movement of the skin and vibration and are critical for the perception of texture and shape. In this issue of Neuron, two papers (Bourane et al. and Luo et al.) demonstrate that early-born Ret+ sensory neurons are RA mechanoreceptors, whose peripheral nerve terminals are associated with Meissner corpuscles, longitudinal lanceolate endings, and Pacinian corpuscles. The studies further show that Ret signaling is essential for the development of these mechanoreceptors.
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 1 Jimmy Fund Way, Boston, MA 02115, USA. qiufu_ma@dfci.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Qiufu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D009420:Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D010141:Pacinian Corpuscles / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D020812:Receptor, trkC / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020812:Receptor, trkC