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The mammalian sodium channel BNC1 is required for normal touch sensation

Nature volume 407, pages 1007–1011 (2000)Cite this article

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 18 July 2002

Abstract

Of the vertebrate senses, touch is the least understood at the molecular level. The ion channels that form the core of the mechanosensory complex and confer touch sensitivity remain unknown1,2,3. However, the similarity of the brain sodium channel 1 (BNC1)4,5,6 to nematode proteins involved in mechanotransduction indicated that it might be a part of such a mechanosensor7,8. Here we show that disrupting the mouse BNC1 gene markedly reduces the sensitivity of a specific component of mechanosensation: low-threshold rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors. In rodent hairy skin these mechanoreceptors are excited by hair movement2. Consistent with this function, we found BNC1 in the lanceolate nerve endings that lie adjacent to and surround the hair follicle9. Although BNC1 has been proposed to have a role in pH sensing10,11, the acid-evoked current in cultured sensory neurons and the response of acid-stimulated nociceptors were normal in BNC1 null mice. These data identify the BNC1 channel as essential for the normal detection of light touch and indicate that BNC1 may be a central component of a mechanosensory complex.

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Figure 1: Disruption of BNC1 locus.
Figure 2: Mechanosensitivity of wild-type and BNC1 null mice.
Figure 3: Response of sensory neurons to current injection, acidic pH and heat.
Figure 4: Immunostaining of BNC1 around guard hair follicles.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Melssen, E. Tarr, T. Moninger, R. Hrstka, T. Nesselhauf, P. Weber, A. Kanehl and T. Mayhew for assistance. We also thank the University of Iowa DNA Core Facility and the Central Microscopy Facility for assistance. This work was supported by the HHMI (M.J.W.) and a DFG grant (G.R.L.). P.A.H. was supported by a Marie Curie fellowship from the European Union. M.J.W. is an Investigator of the HHMI.

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Author notes

  1. Margaret P. Price and Gary R. Lewin: These authors contributed equally to this work

  2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Internal Medicine,

    Margaret P. Price, Chun Cheng, Jinghui Xie, Heather A. Drummond, Jing Qiao, Christopher J. Benson, Deirdre E. Tarr & Michael J. Welsh

  2. Anesthesia,

    Timothy J. Brennan

  3. Obstetrics and Gynecology,

    Ron F. Hrstka, Baoli Yang & Roger A. Williamson

  4. Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, 52242, Iowa, USA

    Michael J. Welsh

  5. Growth Factors and Regeneration Group Department of Neuroscience, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Strasse 10, Berlin-Buch, D-13092, Germany

    Gary R. Lewin, Sabrina L. McIlwrath, Paul A. Heppenstall, Cheryl L. Stucky & Anne G. Mannsfeldt

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Correspondence to Michael J. Welsh.

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Price, M., Lewin, G., McIlwrath, S. et al. The mammalian sodium channel BNC1 is required for normal touch sensation . Nature 407, 1007–1011 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35039512

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