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Ojeda-Alonso J, Calvo-Enrique L, Paricio-Montesinos R, Kumar R, Zhang MD, Poulet JFA, Ernfors P, Lewin GR. Sensory Schwann cells set perceptual thresholds for touch and selectively regulate mechanical nociception. Nat Commun 2024; 15:898. [PMID: 38320986 PMCID: PMC10847425 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44845-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous work identified nociceptive Schwann cells that can initiate pain. Consistent with the existence of inherently mechanosensitive sensory Schwann cells, we found that in mice, the mechanosensory function of almost all nociceptors, including those signaling fast pain, were dependent on sensory Schwann cells. In polymodal nociceptors, sensory Schwann cells signal mechanical, but not cold or heat pain. Terminal Schwann cells also surround mechanoreceptor nerve-endings within the Meissner's corpuscle and in hair follicle lanceolate endings that both signal vibrotactile touch. Within Meissner´s corpuscles, two molecularly and functionally distinct sensory Schwann cells positive for Sox10 and Sox2 differentially modulate rapidly adapting mechanoreceptor function. Using optogenetics we show that Meissner's corpuscle Schwann cells are necessary for the perception of low threshold vibrotactile stimuli. These results show that sensory Schwann cells within diverse glio-neural mechanosensory end-organs are sensors for mechanical pain as well as necessary for touch perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Ojeda-Alonso
- Molecular Physiology of Somatic Sensation, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 13125, Berlin, Germany
| | - Laura Calvo-Enrique
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Division of Molecular Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Departamento de Biología Celular y Patología, Instituto de Neurociencias de Castilla y León, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Ricardo Paricio-Montesinos
- Neural Circuits and Behavior, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 13125, Berlin, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e. V. (DZNE), Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Rakesh Kumar
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Division of Molecular Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Pain Center, Department of Anesthesiology Washington University School of Medicine, CB 8108, 660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Ming-Dong Zhang
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Division of Molecular Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - James F A Poulet
- Neural Circuits and Behavior, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 13125, Berlin, Germany
- Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Patrik Ernfors
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Division of Molecular Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Gary R Lewin
- Molecular Physiology of Somatic Sensation, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 13125, Berlin, Germany.
- Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), partner site Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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Nikolaev YA, Ziolkowski LH, Pang S, Li WP, Feketa VV, Xu CS, Gracheva EO, Bagriantsev SN. 3D architecture and a bicellular mechanism of touch detection in mechanosensory corpuscle. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadi4147. [PMID: 37703368 PMCID: PMC10499330 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi4147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Mechanosensory corpuscles detect transient touch and vibration in the skin of vertebrates, enabling precise sensation of the physical environment. The corpuscle contains a mechanoreceptor afferent surrounded by lamellar cells (LCs), but corpuscular ultrastructure and the role of LCs in touch detection are unknown. We report the three-dimensional architecture of the avian Meissner (Grandry) corpuscle acquired using enhanced focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy and machine learning-based segmentation. The corpuscle comprises a stack of LCs interdigitated with terminal endings from two afferents. Simultaneous electrophysiological recordings from both cell types revealed that mechanosensitive LCs use calcium influx to trigger action potentials in the afferent and thus serve as physiological touch sensors in the skin. The elaborate architecture and bicellular sensory mechanism in the corpuscles, which comprises the afferents and LCs, create the capacity for nuanced encoding of the submodalities of touch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yury A. Nikolaev
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Luke H. Ziolkowski
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Song Pang
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Wei-Ping Li
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Viktor V. Feketa
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - C. Shan Xu
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Elena O. Gracheva
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Sviatoslav N. Bagriantsev
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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Nikolaev YA, Ziolkowski LH, Pang S, Li WP, Feketa VV, Xu CS, Gracheva EO, Bagriantsev SN. 3D architecture and a bi-cellular mechanism of touch detection in mechanosensory corpuscle. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.05.535701. [PMID: 37066170 PMCID: PMC10104047 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.05.535701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Mechanosensory corpuscles detect transient touch and vibratory signals in the skin of vertebrates, enabling navigation, foraging, and precise manipulation of objects 1 . The corpuscle core comprises a terminal neurite of a mechanoreceptor afferent, the only known touch-sensing element within corpuscles, surrounded by terminal Schwann cells called lamellar cells (LCs) 2â€"4 . However, the precise corpuscular ultrastructure, and the role of LCs in touch detection are unknown. Here we used enhanced focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy and electron tomography to reveal the three-dimensional architecture of avian Meissner (Grandry) corpuscle 5 . We show that corpuscles contain a stack of LCs innervated by two afferents, which form large-area contacts with LCs. LCs form tether-like connections with the afferent membrane and contain dense core vesicles which release their content onto the afferent. Furthermore, by performing simultaneous electrophysiological recordings from both cell types, we show that mechanosensitive LCs use calcium influx to trigger action potential firing in the afferent and thus serve as physiological touch sensors in the skin. Our findings suggest a bi-cellular mechanism of touch detection, which comprises the afferent and LCs, likely enables corpuscles to encode the nuances of tactile stimuli.
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