Institute of Neuroscience and Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 866 Yu Hang Tang Rd., Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
Pflugers Arch. 2019 Feb;471(2):357-363. doi: 10.1007/s00424-018-2202-4. Epub 2018 Sep 11.
Serotonin plays an essential role in both the invertebrate and vertebrate nervous systems. ADF, an amphid neuron with dual ciliated sensory endings, is considered to be the only serotonergic sensory neuron in the hermaphroditic Caenorhabditis elegans. This neuron is known to be involved in a range of behaviors including pharyngeal pumping, dauer formation, sensory transduction, and memory. However, whether ADF neuron is directly activated by environmental cues and how it processes these information remains unknown. In this study, we found that ADF neuron responds reliably to noxious stimuli such as repulsive odors, copper, sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS), and mechanical perturbation. This response is mediated by cell-autonomous and non-cell autonomous mechanisms. Furthermore, we show that ADF can modulate avoidance behaviors by inhibiting ASH, an amphid neuron with single ciliated ending. This work greatly furthers our understanding of 5-HT's contributions to sensory information perception, processing, and the resulting behavioral responses.
血清素在无脊椎动物和脊椎动物的神经系统中都起着至关重要的作用。ADF 是一种具有双纤毛感觉末梢的触角神经元，被认为是雌雄同体的秀丽隐杆线虫中唯一的血清素能感觉神经元。已知该神经元参与多种行为，包括咽泵、 dauer 形成、感觉转导和记忆。然而，ADF 神经元是否直接被环境线索激活，以及它如何处理这些信息尚不清楚。在这项研究中，我们发现 ADF 神经元对有害刺激（如刺激性气味、铜、十二烷基硫酸钠（SDS）和机械扰动）可靠地作出反应。这种反应是通过细胞自主和非细胞自主机制介导的。此外，我们还表明，ADF 可以通过抑制具有单纤毛末端的触角神经元 ASH 来调节回避行为。这项工作极大地加深了我们对 5-HT 对感觉信息感知、处理以及由此产生的行为反应的贡献的理解。
