title: A critical role for Piezo2 channels in the mechanotransduction of mouse proprioceptive neurons.
abstract: Proprioceptors are responsible for the conscious sensation of limb position and movement, muscle tension or force, and balance. Recent evidence suggests that Piezo2 is a low threshold mechanosensory receptor in the peripheral nervous system, acting as a transducer for touch sensation and proprioception. Thus, we characterized proprioceptive neurons in the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus that are involved in processing proprioceptive information from the face and oral cavity. This is a specific population of neurons that produce rapidly adapting mechanically-activated currents that are fully dependent on Piezo2. As such, we analyzed the deficits in balance and coordination caused by the selective deletion of the channel in proprioceptors (conditional knockout). The data clearly shows that Piezo2 fulfills a critical role in a defined homogeneous population of proprioceptor neurons that innervate the head muscles, demonstrating that this ion channel is essential for mammalian proprioceptive mechanotransduction.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Danny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Florez-Paz
authors.affiliation: Institute for Pharmacology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Kiran Kumar
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Bali
authors.affiliation: Institute for Pharmacology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Rohini
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kuner
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gomis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D008406:Masseter Muscle / Q000502:physiology; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D051379:Mice; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology*; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D013681:Tegmentum Mesencephali / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; C552921:Piezo2 protein, mouse