Children's Hospital and Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Human Phenome Institute, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Institute of Brain Science, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
Children's Hospital and Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Cell Rep. 2018 Apr 3;23(1):23-31. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.03.041.
How we sense touch is fundamental for many physiological processes. However, the underlying mechanism and molecular identity for touch sensation are largely unknown. Here, we report on defective gentle-touch behavioral responses in brv1 loss-of-function Drosophila larvae. RNAi and Ca imaging confirmed the involvement of Brv1 in sensing touch and demonstrated that Brv1 mediates the mechanotransduction of class III dendritic arborization neurons. Electrophysiological recordings further revealed that the expression of Brv1 protein in HEK293T cells gives rise to stretch-activated cation channels. Purified Brv1 protein reconstituted into liposomes were found to sense stretch stimuli. In addition, co-expression studies suggested that Brv1 amplifies the response of mechanosensitive ion channel NOMPC (no mechanoreceptor potential C) to touch stimuli. Altogether, these findings demonstrate a molecular entity that mediates the gentle-touch response in Drosophila larvae, providing insights into the molecular mechanisms of touch sensation.
我们如何感知触觉对于许多生理过程至关重要。然而，触觉感知的潜在机制和分子身份在很大程度上仍是未知的。在这里，我们报告了 brv1 功能丧失果蝇幼虫中温和触摸行为反应的缺陷。RNAi 和钙成像证实了 Brv1 参与触摸感知，并表明 Brv1 介导了 III 类树突状分支神经元的机械转导。电生理记录进一步表明，在 HEK293T 细胞中表达 Brv1 蛋白会产生拉伸激活的阳离子通道。发现纯化的 Brv1 蛋白重构成脂质体能够感知拉伸刺激。此外，共表达研究表明，Brv1 放大了机械敏感离子通道 NOMPC（无机械感受器电位 C）对触摸刺激的反应。总之，这些发现表明 Brv1 是一种介导果蝇幼虫温和触摸反应的分子实体，为触摸感知的分子机制提供了新的见解。
