Piezo2 is the principal mechanotransduction channel for proprioception

Proprioception, the perception of body and limb position, is mediated by proprioceptors, specialized mechanosensory neurons that convey information about the stretch and tension experienced by muscles, tendons, skin and joints. In mammals, the molecular identity of the stretch-sensitive channel that mediates proprioception is unknown. We found that the mechanically activated nonselective cation channel Piezo2 was expressed in sensory endings of proprioceptors innervating muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs in mice. Two independent mouse lines that lack Piezo2 in proprioceptive neurons showed severely uncoordinated body movements and abnormal limb positions. Moreover, the mechanosensitivity of parvalbumin-expressing neurons that predominantly mark proprioceptors was dependent on Piezo2 expression in vitro, and the stretch-induced firing of proprioceptors in muscle-nerve recordings was markedly reduced in Piezo2-deficient mice. Together, our results indicate that Piezo2 is the major mechanotransducer of mammalian proprioceptors.

Blood-brain barrier dysfunction promotes astrocyte senescence through albumin-induced TGFβ signaling activation

Blood-brain barrier dysfunction (BBBD) and accumulation of senescent astrocytes occur during brain aging and contribute to neuroinflammation and disease. Here, we explored the relationship between these two age-related events, hypothesizing that chronic hippocampal exposure to the blood-borne protein serum albumin could induce stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) in astrocytes via transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ) signaling. We found that 1 week of albumin exposure significantly increased TGFβ signaling and senescence marker expression in cultured rat hippocampal astrocytes. These changes were preventable by pharmacological inhibition of the type I TGFβ receptor (TGFβR) ALK5. To study these effects in vivo, we utilized an animal model of BBBD in which albumin was continuously infused into the lateral ventricles of adult mice. Consistent with our in vitro results, 1 week of albumin infusion significantly increased TGFβ signaling activation and the burden of senescent astrocytes in hippocampal tissue. Pharmacological inhibition of ALK5 TGFβR or conditional genetic knockdown of astrocytic TGFβR prior to albumin infusion was sufficient to prevent albumin-induced astrocyte senescence. Together, these results establish a link between TGFβ signaling activation and astrocyte senescence and suggest that prolonged exposure to serum albumin due to BBBD can trigger these phenotypic changes.

Cholesterol Inhibition of Slo1 Channels Is Calcium-Dependent and Can Be Mediated by Either High-Affinity Calcium-Sensing Site in the Slo1 Cytosolic Tail

Calcium- and voltage-gated K+ channels of large conductance (BKs) are expressed in the cell membranes of all excitable tissues. Currents mediated by BK channel-forming slo1 homotetramers are consistently inhibited by increases in membrane cholesterol (CLR). The molecular mechanisms leading to this CLR action, however, remain unknown. Slo1 channels are activated by increases in calcium (Ca2+) nearby Ca2+-recognition sites in the slo1 cytosolic tail: one high-affinity and one low-affinity site locate to the regulator of conductance for K+ (RCK) 1 domain, whereas another high-affinity site locates within the RCK2 domain. Here, we first evaluated the crosstalking between Ca2+ and CLR on the function of slo1 (cbv1 isoform) channels reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers. CLR robustly reduced channel open probability while barely decreasing unitary current amplitude, with CLR maximal effects being observed at 10-30 µM internal Ca2+ CLR actions were not only modulated by internal Ca2+ levels but also disappeared in absence of this divalent. Moreover, in absence of Ca2+, BK channel-activating concentrations of magnesium (10 mM) did not support CLR action. Next, we evaluated CLR actions on channels where the different Ca2+-sensing sites present in the slo1 cytosolic domain became nonfunctional via mutagenesis. CLR still reduced the activity of low-affinity Ca2+ (RCK1:E379A, E404A) mutants. In contrast, CLR became inefficacious when both high-affinity Ca2+ sites were mutated (RCK1:D367A,D372A and RCK2:D899N,D900N,D901N,D902N,D903N), yet still was able to decrease the activity of each high-affinity site mutant. Therefore, BK channel inhibition by CLR selectively requires optimal levels of Ca2+ being recognized by either of the slo1 high-affinity Ca2+-sensing sites. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Results reveal that inhibition of calcium/voltage-gated K+ channel of large conductance (BK) (slo1) channels by membrane cholesterol requires a physiologically range of internal calcium (Ca2+) and is selectively linked to the two high-affinity Ca2+-sensing sites located in the cytosolic tail domain, which underscores that Ca2+ and cholesterol actions are allosterically coupled to the channel gate. Cholesterol modification of BK channel activity likely contributes to disruption of normal physiology by common health conditions that are triggered by disruption of cholesterol homeostasis.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation does not alter muscle spindle afferent mechanosensation or sensory integration in the spinal cord of adult mice

Inflammation is known to alter nervous system function, but its effect on muscle spindle afferent mechanosensation and sensory integration in the spinal cord has not been well studied. We tested the hypothesis that systemic inflammation induced by an intraperitoneal injection of the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 7.5 × 105 endotoxin units/kg 18 h before experiment) would alter muscle spindle afferent mechanosensation and spinal cord excitability to Group Ia input in male and female adult C57Bl/6 mice. LPS injection caused a systemic immune response, evidenced by decreased white blood cell, monocyte, and lymphocyte concentrations in the blood, increased blood granulocyte concentration, and body weight loss. The immune response in both sexes was qualitatively similar. We used an in vitro muscle-nerve preparation to assay muscle spindle afferent response to stretch and vibration. LPS injection did not significantly change the response to stretch or vibration, with the exception of small decreases in the ability to entrain to high-frequency vibration in male mice. Similarly, LPS injection did not alter spinal cord excitability to Group Ia muscle spindle afferent input as measured by the Hoffman's reflex test in anesthetized mice (100 mg/kg ketamine, 10 mg/kg xylazine). Specifically, there were no changes in M or H wave latencies nor in the percentage of motor neurons excited by electrical afferent stimulation (Hmax /Mmax ). Overall, we found no major alterations in muscle proprioceptor function or sensory integration following exposure to LPS at a dose and time course that causes changes in nociceptor function and central processing.