The Transcription Factor c-Maf Controls Touch Receptor Development and Function
The Transcription Factor c-Maf Controls Touch Receptor Development and Function
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DOI：
10.1126/science.1214314
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发表时间：
2012-03-16
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Birchmeier, Carmen
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wende, Hagen;Lechner, Stefan G.;Birchmeier, Carmen
触觉依赖于专门的机械感觉神经元对机械刺激的检测。分子数据的缺乏使得很难分析机械感受器的发育和定义其多样性和功能的基础。我们表明，转录因子c-Maf/c-MAF是至关重要的mechanosensory功能在小鼠和人类。在c-Maf突变小鼠中，几种快速适应的机械感受器类型的发育和功能被破坏。特别是，帕西尼小体，一种专门检测高频振动的机械感受器，严重萎缩。与此相一致的是，在c-MAF基因中携带显性突变的人对高频振动的敏感性降低。因此，我们的工作确定了一个关键的转录因子，指定机械感受器及其终末器官的发育和功能。
The sense of touch relies on detection of mechanical stimuli by specialized mechanosensory neurons. The scarcity of molecular data has made it difficult to analyze development of mechanoreceptors and to define the basis of their diversity and function. We show that the transcription factor c-Maf/c-MAF is crucial for mechanosensory function in mice and humans. The development and function of several rapidly adapting mechanoreceptor types are disrupted in c-Maf mutant mice. In particular, Pacinian corpuscles, a type of mechanoreceptor specialized to detect high-frequency vibrations, are severely atrophied. In line with this, sensitivity to high-frequency vibration is reduced in humans carrying a dominant mutation in the c-MAF gene. Thus, our work identifies a key transcription factor specifying development and function of mechanoreceptors and their end organs.