In:
eLife, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, Vol. 3 ( 2014-12-19)
Kurzfassung:
In the nervous system, a network of specialized neurons—known as the somatosensory system—carries information about sensations including touch, muscle position, temperature and pain. Distinct sets of somatosensory neurons are thought to carry information about the different types of sensations. In young animals, the precise switching on, or ‘expression’, of genes controls the formation of the network of neurons. However, it is not known exactly which genes are expressed in what types of neurons, where, or when. Here, Chiu et al. used a technique called flow cytometry using different fluorescent markers to isolate a group of cells called Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) neurons in mice. These neurons have long thread-like fibers that extend from the spinal cord to the skin, muscles and joints all over the body. These fibers carry sensory information to the spinal cord, where it can be relayed to the brain and processed. The experiments compared three distinct types of DRG neuron and found that they differed in their ability to send information to other cells. Chiu et al. analyzed the expression of all the genes in the three types of DRG neurons. Each type of neuron had distinct groups of genes that were being expressed. Also, several genes that are known to be important for sensation were expressed at different levels in the different types of cells. Next, large numbers of single cells were analyzed to find out the finer details about the three types of neuron. These findings made it possible to further divide the DRG neurons into six distinct subsets that matched previously known groups of somatosensory neurons, and also identified new ones. Chiu et al.'s findings reveal the complexity and diversity of the neurons involved in carrying information about sensations towards the brain. This is an important step in classifying the nervous system, and uncovers many genes previously not linked to sensation. The next challenges lie in understanding how the expression of these genes in each type of neuron relates to their unique roles.
Materialart:
Online-Ressource
ISSN:
2050-084X
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.001
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.002
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.003
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.004
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.005
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.006
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.007
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.008
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.009
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.010
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.011
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.012
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.013
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.014
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.015
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.016
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.017
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.018
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.019
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.020
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.021
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.022
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.023
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.024
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.025
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.026
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.027
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.028
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.029
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.030
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.031
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.032
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.033
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.04660.034
Sprache:
Englisch
Verlag:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publikationsdatum:
2014
ZDB Id:
2687154-3