title: In vivo tactile stimulation-evoked responses in Caenorhabditis elegans amphid sheath glia.
abstract: Glial cells are important components of the nervous system. However, how they respond to physiological stimuli in vivo remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the electrophysiological activities and Ca2+ responses of the C. elegans amphid sheath glia (AMsh glia) to tactile stimulation in vivo. We recorded robust inward currents and Ca2+ elevation in the AMsh cell with the delivery of tactile stimuli of varying displacements to the nose tip of the worm. Compared to the adjacent mechanoreceptor ASH neuron, the AMsh cell showed greater sensitivity to tactile stimulation. Amiloride, an epithelial Na+ channel blocker, blocked the touch-induced currents and Ca2+ signaling in the ASH neuron, but not those in the AMsh cell. Taken together, our results revealed that AMsh glial cells actively respond to in vivo tactile stimulation and likely function cell-autonomously as mechanoreceptors.
authors: Department of Neurobiology, The Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, The Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
authors: Gang
authors: G
authors: Ding
authors: Department of Neurobiology, The Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, The Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
authors: Wenjuan
authors: W
authors: Zou
authors: Department of Neurobiology, The Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, The Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
authors: Hu
authors: H
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Neurobiology, The Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, The Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
authors: Yadan
authors: Y
authors: Xue
authors: Department of Neurobiology, The Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, The Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical College, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China.
authors: Yang
authors: Y
authors: Cai
authors: Department of Neurobiology, The Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, The Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
authors: Guifang
authors: G
authors: Huang
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical College, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China.
authors: Lufeng
authors: L
authors: Chen
authors: Department of Neurobiology, The Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, The Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
authors: Shumin
authors: S
authors: Duan
authors: Department of Neurobiology, The Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, The Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
authors: Lijun
authors: L
authors: Kang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D055698:Touch Perception
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium