Sangster Kevin T, Zhang Xinying, Del Toro Daniel, Sarantopoulos Christina, Moses Ashley M, Mahasenan Shreya, Pederick Daniel T, Perreault Sophie, Fallet-Bianco Catherine, Roome R Brian, Seiradake Elena, Luo Liqun, Kania Artur
Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM); Montréal, QC, Canada.
Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University; Montréal, QC, Canada.
bioRxiv. 2025 Aug 26:2025.08.13.670179. doi: 10.1101/2025.08.13.670179.
Somatotopy is a recurring organisational feature of the somatosensory system where adjacent neurons and their connections represent adjacent regions of the body. The molecular mechanisms governing the formation of such "body maps" remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that the cell surface proteins teneurin-3 and latrophilin-2 are expressed in opposing gradients in multiple somatotopic maps in the mouse, including within the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Genetic manipulation of these proteins in spinal dorsal horn or sensory neurons distorts the somatotopy of neuronal connections and impairs accurate localisation of a noxious stimulus on the surface of the body. Our work provides the foundation for a molecular model of somatotopic map formation and insights into their function in the localisation of somatosensory stimuli or topognosis.
躯体定位是躯体感觉系统中反复出现的组织特征，相邻的神经元及其连接代表身体的相邻区域。控制此类“身体图谱”形成的分子机制在很大程度上仍不清楚。在这里，我们证明细胞表面蛋白teneurin-3和促胃液素释放肽受体2在小鼠多个躯体定位图谱中以相反的梯度表达，包括在脊髓背角内。对脊髓背角或感觉神经元中的这些蛋白质进行基因操作会扭曲神经元连接的躯体定位，并损害对身体表面有害刺激的准确定位。我们的工作为躯体定位图谱形成的分子模型提供了基础，并深入了解了它们在躯体感觉刺激定位或位置觉中的功能。
