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Neubarth NL, Emanuel AJ, Liu Y, Springel MW, Handler A, Zhang Q, Lehnert BP, Guo C, Orefice LL, Abdelaziz A, DeLisle MM, Iskols M, Rhyins J, Kim SJ, Cattel SJ, Regehr W, Harvey CD, Drugowitsch J, Ginty DD. Meissner corpuscles and their spatially intermingled afferents underlie gentle touch perception. Science 2020; 368:eabb2751. [PMID: 32554568 PMCID: PMC7354383 DOI: 10.1126/science.abb2751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Meissner corpuscles are mechanosensory end organs that densely occupy mammalian glabrous skin. We generated mice that selectively lacked Meissner corpuscles and found them to be deficient in both perceiving the gentlest detectable forces acting on glabrous skin and fine sensorimotor control. We found that Meissner corpuscles are innervated by two mechanoreceptor subtypes that exhibit distinct responses to tactile stimuli. The anatomical receptive fields of these two mechanoreceptor subtypes homotypically tile glabrous skin in a manner that is offset with respect to one another. Electron microscopic analysis of the two Meissner afferents within the corpuscle supports a model in which the extent of lamellar cell wrappings of mechanoreceptor endings determines their force sensitivity thresholds and kinetic properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L Neubarth
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Alan J Emanuel
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Yin Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University, 279 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, 279 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Mark W Springel
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Annie Handler
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Qiyu Zhang
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Brendan P Lehnert
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Chong Guo
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Lauren L Orefice
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Amira Abdelaziz
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Michelle M DeLisle
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Michael Iskols
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Julia Rhyins
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Soo J Kim
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Stuart J Cattel
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Wade Regehr
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Christopher D Harvey
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jan Drugowitsch
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - David D Ginty
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Tsai PT, Rudolph S, Guo C, Ellegood J, Gibson JM, Schaeffer SM, Mogavero J, Lerch JP, Regehr W, Sahin M. Sensitive Periods for Cerebellar-Mediated Autistic-like Behaviors. Cell Rep 2018; 25:357-367.e4. [PMID: 30304677 PMCID: PMC6226056 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.09.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Revised: 07/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite a prevalence exceeding 1%, mechanisms underlying autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are poorly understood, and targeted therapies and guiding parameters are urgently needed. We recently demonstrated that cerebellar dysfunction is sufficient to generate autistic-like behaviors in a mouse model of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Here, using the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR)-specific inhibitor rapamycin, we define distinct sensitive periods for treatment of autistic-like behaviors with sensitive periods extending into adulthood for social behaviors. We identify cellular and electrophysiological parameters that may contribute to behavioral rescue, with rescue of Purkinje cell survival and excitability corresponding to social behavioral rescue. In addition, using anatomic and diffusion-based MRI, we identify structural changes in cerebellar domains implicated in ASD that correlate with sensitive periods of specific autism-like behaviors. These findings thus not only define treatment parameters into adulthood, but also support a mechanistic basis for the targeted rescue of autism-related behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter T Tsai
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
| | | | - Chong Guo
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jacob Ellegood
- Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Kids, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer M Gibson
- Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Samantha M Schaeffer
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jazmin Mogavero
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jason P Lerch
- Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Kids, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Wade Regehr
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mustafa Sahin
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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