| First Author | Kupari J | Year | 2014 |
| Journal | PLoS One | Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 8 | Pages | e104764 |
| PubMed ID | 25111710 | Mgi Jnum | J:221012 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5637647 | Doi | 10.1371/journal.pone.0104764 |
| Citation | Kupari J, et al. (2014) Different requirements for GFRalpha2-signaling in three populations of cutaneous sensory neurons. PLoS One 9(8):e104764 |
| abstractText | Many primary sensory neurons in mouse dorsal root ganglia (DRG) express one or several GFRalpha's, the ligand-binding receptors of the GDNF family, and their common signaling receptor Ret. GFRalpha2, the principal receptor for neurturin, is expressed in most of the small nonpeptidergic DRG neurons, but also in some large DRG neurons that start to express Ret earlier. Previously, GFRalpha2 has been shown to be crucial for the soma size of small nonpeptidergic nociceptors and for their target innervation of glabrous epidermis. However, little is known about this receptor in other Ret-expressing DRG neuron populations. Here we have investigated two populations of Ret-positive low-threshold mechanoreceptors that innervate different types of hair follicles on mouse back skin: the small C-LTMRs and the large Abeta-LTMRs. Using GFRalpha2-KO mice and immunohistochemistry we found that, similar to the nonpeptidergic nociceptors, GFRalpha2 controls the cell size but not the survival of both C-LTMRs and Abeta-LTMRs. In contrast to the nonpeptidergic neurons, GFRalpha2 is not required for the target innervation of C-LTMRs and Abeta-LTMRs in the back skin. These results suggest that different factors drive target innervation in these three populations of neurons. In addition, the observation that the large Ret-positive DRG neurons lack GFRalpha2 immunoreactivity in mature animals suggests that these neurons switch their GFRalpha signaling pathways during postnatal development. |
