Low-threshold mechanosensory receptors (LTMRs) are important for the sense of touch. Here, the authors show that, in mice, the Aδ subtype of LTMRs (Aδ-LTMRs), which are located inside hair follicles, are tuned to be more sensitive to deflection in the caudal-to-rostral direction. This is achieved by an asymmetric distribution of the lanceolate (tapered branches) endings of Aδ-LTMRs that is biased towards the caudal side of the hair follicle. Furthermore, this polarized distribution of lanceolate Aδ-LTMR endings, and therefore their direction selectivity, is dependent on brain-derived neurotrophic factor signalling.
References
Rutlin, M. et al. The cellular and molecular basis of direction selectivity of Aδ-LTMRs. Cell 159, 1640–1651 (2014)
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Lewis, S. TLC for touch neurons. Nat Rev Neurosci 16, 68 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3911
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3911