Journal Article

Touch receptor end-organ innervation and function require sensory neuron expression of the transcription factor Meis2

Max Delbrück Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (MDC), Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier (INM) ; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Padmanabhan, Kiran, Schwaller, Frederick, Desiderio, Simon, Marmigere, Frederic, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL) ; École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon) ; Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL) ; Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Carroll, Patrick, Lewin, Gary, Tartour, Kevin

2024

Overview

Touch sensation is primarily encoded by mechanoreceptors, called low-threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMRs), with their cell bodies in the dorsal root ganglia. Because of their great diversity in terms of molecular signature, terminal endings morphology, and electrophysiological properties, mirroring the complexity of tactile experience, LTMRs are a model of choice to study the molecular cues differentially controlling neuronal diversification. While the transcriptional codes that define different LTMR subtypes have been extensively studied, the molecular players that participate in their late maturation and in particular in the striking diversity of their end-organ morphological specialization are largely unknown. Here we identified the TALE homeodomain transcription factor Meis2 as a key regulator of LTMRs target-field innervation in mice. Meis2 is specifically expressed in cutaneous LTMRs, and its expression depends on target-derived signals. While LTMRs lacking Meis2 survived and are normally specified, their end-organ innervations, electrophysiological properties, and transcriptome are differentially and markedly affected, resulting in impaired sensory-evoked behavioral responses. These data establish Meis2 as a major transcriptional regulator controlling the orderly formation of sensory neurons innervating peripheral end organs required for light touch.

• Publisher: CCSD,eLife Sciences Publication,eLife Science Publications, Ltd,eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
• Subject: Analysis / Animals / Biochemistry, Molecular Biology / Dorsal root ganglia / dorsal root ganglion / Embryonic development / Gene Expression Regulation / Genomics / Homeobox / Innervation / Life Sciences / Mechanoreceptors / Meis2 / Mice / Nervous System Physiological Phenomena / Neurobiology / Neurons / Neurons and Cognition / Sensation / Sensory neurons / Sensory Receptor Cells / TALE homeodomain / transcription factor / Transcription Factors - genetics / Transcriptomes