Ogawa Research Unit, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
Development. 2010 Jul;137(14):2319-28. doi: 10.1242/dev.046995. Epub 2010 Jun 9.
Establishment of connectivity between peripheral and central organs is essential for sensory processing by dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Using Ret as a marker for mechanoreceptive DRG neurons, we show that both central and peripheral projections of mechanoreceptive neurons are severely impaired in the absence of Ret. Death of DRG neurons in Ret-deficient mice can be rescued by eliminating Bax, although their projections remain disrupted. Furthermore, ectopic expression of the Ret ligand neurturin, but not Gdnf, in the spinal cord induces aberrant projection of mechanoreceptive afferents. Our results demonstrate that Ret expression in DRG neurons is crucial for the neurturin-mediated formation of precise axonal projections in the central nervous system.
外周和中枢器官之间的连接建立对于背根神经节 (DRG) 神经元的感觉处理至关重要。我们使用 Ret 作为机械感受性 DRG 神经元的标志物，表明机械感受性神经元的中枢和外周投射在 Ret 缺失的情况下都严重受损。尽管它们的投射仍然中断，但在 Ret 缺陷型小鼠中消除 Bax 可以挽救 DRG 神经元的死亡。此外，在脊髓中异位表达 Ret 配体神经胶质细胞源性神经营养因子 (GDNF) 而不是神经营养因子 3 (neurturin)，会诱导机械感受传入纤维的异常投射。我们的结果表明，DRG 神经元中 Ret 的表达对于神经营养因子 3 介导的中枢神经系统中精确轴突投射的形成至关重要。
