Kindt Katie S, Viswanath Veena, Macpherson Lindsey, Quast Kathleen, Hu Hongzhen, Patapoutian Ardem, Schafer William R
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QH, UK.
Nat Neurosci. 2007 May;10(5):568-77. doi: 10.1038/nn1886. Epub 2007 Apr 22.
Members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channel family mediate diverse sensory transduction processes in both vertebrates and invertebrates. In particular, members of the TRPA subfamily have distinct thermosensory roles in Drosophila, and mammalian TRPA1 is postulated to have a function in noxious cold sensation and mechanosensation. Here we show that mutations in trpa-1, the C. elegans ortholog of mouse Trpa1, confer specific defects in mechanosensory behaviors related to nose-touch responses and foraging. trpa-1 is expressed and functions in sensory neurons required for these mechanosensory behaviors, and contributes to neural responses of these cells to touch, particularly after repeated mechanical stimulation. Furthermore, mechanical pressure can activate C. elegans TRPA-1 heterologously expressed in mammalian cells. Collectively, these data demonstrate that trpa-1 encodes an ion channel that can be activated in response to mechanical pressure and is required for mechanosensory neuron function, suggesting a possible role in mechanosensory transduction or modulation.
瞬时受体电位（TRP）离子通道家族的成员介导脊椎动物和无脊椎动物中多种感觉转导过程。特别是，TRPA亚家族的成员在果蝇中具有独特的热感觉作用，并且推测哺乳动物的TRPA1在有害冷觉和机械感觉中具有功能。在这里，我们表明，小鼠Trpa1在秀丽隐杆线虫中的直系同源基因trpa-1发生突变，会在与鼻触反应和觅食相关的机械感觉行为中产生特定缺陷。trpa-1在这些机械感觉行为所需的感觉神经元中表达并发挥作用，并有助于这些细胞对触摸的神经反应，尤其是在反复机械刺激后。此外，机械压力可以激活在哺乳动物细胞中异源表达的秀丽隐杆线虫TRPA-1。这些数据共同表明，trpa-1编码一种离子通道，该通道可响应机械压力而被激活，并且是机械感觉神经元功能所必需的，这表明其在机械感觉转导或调节中可能发挥作用。
