Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-12-16
pubmed:abstractText
DEG/ENaC channels have been broadly implicated in mechanosensory transduction, yet many questions remain about how these proteins contribute to complexes that sense mechanical stimuli. In C. elegans, two DEG/ENaC channel subunits are thought to contribute to a gentle touch transduction complex: MEC-4, which is essential for gentle touch sensation, and MEC-10, whose importance is less well defined. By characterizing a mec-10 deletion mutant, we have found that MEC-10 is important, but not essential, for gentle touch responses in the body touch neurons ALM, PLM, and PVM. Surprisingly, the requirement for MEC-10 in ALM and PLM is spatially asymmetric; mec-10 animals show significant behavioral and physiological responses to stimulation at the distal end of touch neuron dendrites, but respond poorly to stimuli applied near the neuronal cell body. The subcellular distribution of a rescuing MEC-10::GFP translational fusion was found to be restricted to the neuronal cell body and proximal dendrite, consistent with the hypothesis that MEC-10 protein is asymmetrically distributed within the touch neuron process. These results suggest that MEC-10 may contribute to only a subset of gentle touch mechanosensory complexes found preferentially at the proximal dendrite.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
1522-1598
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
104
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
3334-44
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
Spatial asymmetry in the mechanosensory phenotypes of the C. elegans DEG/ENaC gene mec-10.
pubmed:affiliation
Cell Biology Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QH, UK.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural