In:
eLife, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, Vol. 7 ( 2018-03-09)
Abstract:
We often take our sense of touch for granted. Yet, our every-day life greatly depends on the ability to perceive our environment to alert us of danger or to further social interactions, such as mother-child bonding. Our sense of touch relies on the conversion of mechanical stimuli to electrical signals (this is known as mechanotransduction), which then travel to brain to be processed. This task is fulfilled by specific ion channels called Piezo2, which are activated when cells are exposed to pressure and other mechanical forces. These channels can be found in sensory nerves and specialized structures in the skin, where they help to detect physical contact, roughness of surfaces and the position of our body parts. It is still not clear how Piezo2 channels are regulated but previous research by several laboratories suggests that they work in conjunction with other proteins. One of these proteins is the myotubularin related protein-2, or Mtmr2 for short. Now, Narayanan et al. – including some of the researchers involved in the previous research – set out to advance our understanding of the molecular basis of touch and looked more closely at Mtmr2. To test if Mtmr2 played a role in mechanotransduction, Narayanan et al. both increased and reduced the levels of this protein in sensory neurons of mice grown in the laboratory. When Mtmr2 levels were low, the activity of Piezo2 channels increased. However, when the protein levels were high, Piezo2 channels were inhibited. These results suggest that Mtmr2 can control the activity of Piezo2. Further experiments, in which Mtmr2 was genetically modified or sensory neurons were treated with chemicals, revealed that Mtmr2 reduces a specific fatty acid in the membrane of nerve cells, which in turn attenuates the activity of Piezo2. This study identified Mtmr2 and distinct fatty acids in the cell membrane as new components of the complex setup required for the sense of touch. A next step will be to test if these molecules also influence the activity of Piezo2 when the skin has become injured or upon inflammation.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2050-084X
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.001
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.002
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.003
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.004
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.005
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.006
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.007
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.008
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.009
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.010
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.011
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.012
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.013
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.014
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.015
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.016
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.018
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.32346.019
Language:
English
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publication Date:
2018
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2687154-3
Permalink