Qi Lijun, Iskols Michael, Handler Annie, Ginty David D
Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
bioRxiv. 2023 Jun 15:2023.06.14.545006. doi: 10.1101/2023.06.14.545006.
Krause corpuscles, first discovered in the 1850s, are enigmatic sensory structures with unknown physiological properties and functions found within the genitalia and other mucocutaneous tissues. Here, we identified two distinct somatosensory neuron subtypes that innervate Krause corpuscles of the mouse penis and clitoris and project to a unique sensory terminal region of the spinal cord. Using electrophysiology and calcium imaging, we found that both Krause corpuscle afferent types are A-fiber rapid-adapting low-threshold mechanoreceptors, optimally tuned to dynamic, light touch and mechanical vibrations (40-80 Hz) applied to the clitoris or penis. Optogenetic activation of male Krause corpuscle afferent terminals evoked penile erection, while genetic ablation of Krause corpuscles impaired intromission and ejaculation of males as well as reduced sexual receptivity of females. Thus, Krause corpuscles, which are particularly dense in the clitoris, are vibrotactile sensors crucial for normal sexual behavior.
克劳斯小体于19世纪50年代首次被发现，是一种神秘的感觉结构，存在于生殖器和其他黏膜皮肤组织中，其生理特性和功能尚不清楚。在这里，我们鉴定出了两种不同的躯体感觉神经元亚型，它们支配小鼠阴茎和阴蒂的克劳斯小体，并投射到脊髓的一个独特的感觉终末区域。通过电生理学和钙成像，我们发现这两种克劳斯小体传入类型都是A纤维快速适应型低阈值机械感受器，对施加于阴蒂或阴茎的动态、轻触觉和机械振动（40 - 80赫兹）具有最佳调谐。雄性克劳斯小体传入终末的光遗传学激活诱发阴茎勃起，而克劳斯小体的基因消融损害了雄性的插入和射精，并降低了雌性的性接受能力。因此，在阴蒂中特别密集的克劳斯小体是正常性行为至关重要的振动触觉传感器。
