The DRASIC Cation Channel Contributes to the Detection of Cutaneous Touch and Acid Stimuli in Mice

Cation channels in the DEG/ENaC family are proposed to detect cutaneous stimuli in mammals. We localized one such channel, DRASIC, in several different specialized sensory nerve endings of skin, suggesting it might participate in mechanosensation and/or acid-evoked nociception. Disrupting the mouse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 2001-12, Vol.32 (6), p.1071-1083
Main Authors: Price, Margaret P, McIlwrath, Sabrina L, Xie, Jinghui, Cheng, Chun, Qiao, Jing, Tarr, Deirdre E, Sluka, Kathleen A, Brennan, Timothy J, Lewin, Gary R, Welsh, Michael J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acid Sensing Ion Channels
Acids
Animals
Behavior, Animal - physiology
cation channels
DRASIC gene
Hot Temperature
Mechanoreceptors - physiology
Membrane Potentials - physiology
Membrane Proteins
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Knockout
Nerve Endings - physiology
Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics
Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism
Neurons, Afferent - physiology
Nociceptors - physiology
Pain - chemically induced
Pain - physiopathology
Patch-Clamp Techniques
Physical Stimulation
Recombination, Genetic
Sodium Channels - genetics
Sodium Channels - metabolism
Stimulation, Chemical
Touch - physiology
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Summary:Cation channels in the DEG/ENaC family are proposed to detect cutaneous stimuli in mammals. We localized one such channel, DRASIC, in several different specialized sensory nerve endings of skin, suggesting it might participate in mechanosensation and/or acid-evoked nociception. Disrupting the mouse DRASIC gene altered sensory transduction in specific and distinct ways. Loss of DRASIC increased the sensitivity of mechanoreceptors detecting light touch, but it reduced the sensitivity of a mechanoreceptor responding to noxious pinch and decreased the response of acid- and noxious heat-sensitive nociceptors. The data suggest that DRASIC subunits participate in heteromultimeric channel complexes in sensory neurons. Moreover, in different cellular contexts, DRASIC may respond to mechanical stimuli or to low pH to mediate normal touch and pain sensation.
ISSN:0896-6273
1097-4199
DOI:10.1016/S0896-6273(01)00547-5