Hypothalamic warm-sensitive neurons require TRPC4 channel for detecting internal warmth and regulating body temperature in mice.
- Journal:
- Neuron
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.11.008
- Affiliations:
- 10
- Authors:
- 26
Research Highlight
How the thermostat in the mouse brain works
© Jeff Foott/Photodisc/Getty Images
A molecule that plays a vital role in enabling the mouse brain to monitor body temperature has been identified.
Monitoring and regulating body temperate is one of the most critical functions of the brain. For a long time, brain cells known as warm-sensitive neurons have been known to sense temperature. But the details of how this happens on cellular and molecular levels had been sketchy.
Now, by using an implantable device for heating the mouse brain, a team led by researchers from ShanghaiTech University in China has found that a molecule known as TRPC4 is vital for sensing warmth in the brains of mice.
They also found that warm-sensitive neurons that express this molecule act as thermostat, preventing the core temperature from exceeding a certain value.
TRPC4 could thus provide a way to regulate core temperature in therapeutic settings, the researchers note.
References
- Neuron 111, 387–404 (2023). doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.11.008