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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
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Combined Recording of Mechanically Stimulated Afferent Output and Nerve Terminal Labelling in Mouse Hair Follicle Lanceolate Endings
Published on: May 7, 2016
Stomatin and sensory neuron mechanotransduction
Carlos Martinez-Salgado1, Anne G Benckendorff, Li-Yang Chiang
1Department of Neuroscience, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Robert-Rössle Str, Berlin-Buch, Germany.
Journal of Neurophysiology
|October 19, 2007
Summary
Stomatin protein is essential for touch sensation in specific mouse sensory neurons. Its absence reduces the sensitivity of d-hair receptors, impacting mechanotransduction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Sensory Physiology
Background:
- Somatic sensory neurons in dorsal root ganglia mediate mechanosensation.
- Mechanotransduction mechanisms are well-understood in invertebrates like C. elegans but less so in vertebrates.
- The stomatin family, including the founding member stomatin, is implicated in cellular functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of stomatin in mechanotransduction in primary sensory neurons.
- To test the hypothesis that stomatin is involved in sensing mechanical stimuli in vertebrates.
Main Methods:
- Utilized stomatin null mutant mice.
- Employed an in vitro mouse skin nerve preparation to record from mechanoreceptors (A-fiber and C-fiber axons).
- Performed patch-clamp analysis on cultured presumptive D-hair receptor neurons.
Main Results:
- D-hair receptors, a type of rapidly adapting mechanoreceptor, showed reduced mechanical stimulation sensitivity in stomatin-deficient mice.
- Other cutaneous mechanoreceptors, including nociceptive C-fibers, were unaffected.
- No changes in membrane excitability were observed in presumptive D-hair receptor neurons lacking stomatin.
Conclusions:
- Stomatin is required for normal mechanotransduction in a specific subpopulation of vertebrate sensory neurons, namely d-hair receptors.
- This finding contributes to understanding the molecular basis of touch sensation in mammals.
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