title: G protein-coupled odorant receptors underlie mechanosensitivity in mammalian olfactory sensory neurons.
abstract: Mechanosensitive cells are essential for organisms to sense the external and internal environments, and a variety of molecules have been implicated as mechanical sensors. Here we report that odorant receptors (ORs), a large family of G protein-coupled receptors, underlie the responses to both chemical and mechanical stimuli in mouse olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). Genetic ablation of key signaling proteins in odor transduction or disruption of OR-G protein coupling eliminates mechanical responses. Curiously, OSNs expressing different OR types display significantly different responses to mechanical stimuli. Genetic swap of putatively mechanosensitive ORs abolishes or reduces mechanical responses of OSNs. Furthermore, ectopic expression of an OR restores mechanosensitivity in loss-of-function OSNs. Lastly, heterologous expression of an OR confers mechanosensitivity to its host cells. These results indicate that certain ORs are both necessary and sufficient to cause mechanical responses, revealing a previously unidentified mechanism for mechanotransduction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Connelly
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
authors.forename: Yiqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104; CNRS, Université de Bourgogne, 21000 Dijon, France;
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Grosmaitre
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
authors.forename: Lindsey C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Santarelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Savigner
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China; and Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195.
authors.forename: Zhenshan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195.
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Storm
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104; minghong@mail.med.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Minghong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D057507:Mice, 129 Strain; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018035:Receptors, Odorant; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
keywords: G protein-coupled receptors; heterologous expression; mechanical sensors; mechanotransduction; odorant receptors