Inberg Sharon, Iosilevskii Yael, Calatayud-Sanchez Alba, Setty Hagar, Oren-Suissa Meital, Krieg Michael, Podbilewicz Benjamin
Department of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain.
Elife. 2025 Jan 10;14:e83973. doi: 10.7554/eLife.83973.
Dendrites are crucial for receiving information into neurons. Sensory experience affects the structure of these tree-like neurites, which, it is assumed, modifies neuronal function, yet the evidence is scarce, and the mechanisms are unknown. To study whether sensory experience affects dendritic morphology, we use the ' arborized nociceptor PVD neurons, under natural mechanical stimulation induced by physical contacts between individuals. We found that mechanosensory signals induced by conspecifics and by glass beads affect the dendritic structure of the PVD. Moreover, developmentally isolated animals show a decrease in their ability to respond to harsh touch. The structural and behavioral plasticity following sensory deprivation are functionally independent of each other and are mediated by an array of evolutionarily conserved mechanosensory amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channels (degenerins). Calcium imaging of the PVD neurons in a micromechanical device revealed that controlled mechanical stimulation of the body wall produces similar calcium dynamics in both isolated and crowded animals. Our genetic results, supported by optogenetic, behavioral, and pharmacological evidence, suggest an activity-dependent homeostatic mechanism for dendritic structural plasticity, that in parallel controls escape response to noxious mechanosensory stimuli.
树突对于神经元接收信息至关重要。感觉经验会影响这些树状神经突的结构，人们认为这会改变神经元功能，但相关证据稀少，其机制也尚不明确。为了研究感觉经验是否会影响树突形态，我们利用“树状伤害感受器PVD神经元”，处于个体间物理接触所引发的自然机械刺激之下。我们发现，同种个体和玻璃珠所引发的机械感觉信号会影响PVD的树突结构。此外，发育过程中隔离饲养的动物对强烈触碰的反应能力有所下降。感觉剥夺后的结构和行为可塑性在功能上彼此独立，且由一系列进化上保守的机械感觉阿米洛利敏感上皮钠通道（简并蛋白）介导。在微机械设备中对PVD神经元进行钙成像显示，对体壁进行可控的机械刺激在隔离饲养和群居动物中都会产生相似的钙动力学变化。我们的遗传学结果，得到了光遗传学、行为学和药理学证据的支持，提示了一种依赖于活动的树突结构可塑性稳态机制，该机制同时控制对有害机械感觉刺激的逃避反应。
