title: Genetic Identification of an Expansive Mechanoreceptor Sensitive to Skin Stroking.
abstract: Touch perception begins with activation of low-threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMRs) in the periphery. LTMR terminals exhibit tremendous morphological heterogeneity that specifies their mechanical receptivity. In a survey of mammalian skin, we found a preponderance of neurofilament-heavy-chain(+) circumferential endings associated with hair follicles, prompting us to develop a genetic strategy to interrogate these neurons. Targeted in vivo recordings revealed them to be Aβ field-LTMRs, identified 50 years ago but largely elusive thereafter. Remarkably, while Aβ field-LTMRs are highly sensitive to gentle stroking of the skin, they are unresponsive to hair deflection, and they encode skin indentation in the noxious range across large, spotty receptive fields. Individual Aβ field-LTMRs form up to 180 circumferential endings, making them the most anatomically expansive LTMR identified to date. Thus, Aβ field-LTMRs are a major mammalian LTMR subtype that forms circumferential endings in hairy skin, and their sensitivity to gentle skin stroking arises through integration across many low-sensitivity circumferential endings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.|Neuroscience Training Program, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
authors.forename: Brendan P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Lehnert
authors.affiliation: The Department of Civil Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218.
authors.forename: Junwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
authors.forename: Nicole L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Neubarth
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
authors.forename: Travis L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Dickendesher
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
authors.forename: Pann H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Nwe
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071.
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cassidy
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071.
authors.forename: C Jeffery
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Woodbury
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Ginty
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000378:metabolism; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000378:metabolism; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000378:metabolism; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D066148:Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn / Q000378:metabolism; D014110:Touch