Separate transcriptionally regulated pathways specify distinct classes of sister dendrites in a nociceptive neuron.

ABSTRACT: The dendritic processes of nociceptive neurons transduce external signals into neurochemical cues that alert the organism to potentially damaging stimuli. The receptive field for each sensory neuron is defined by its dendritic arbor, but the mechanisms that shape dendritic architecture are incompletely understood. Using the model nociceptor, the PVD neuron in C. elegans, we determined that two types of PVD lateral branches project along the dorsal/ventral axis to generate the PVD dendritic arbor: (1) Pioneer dendrites that adhere to the epidermis, and (2) Commissural dendrites that fasciculate with circumferential motor neuron processes. Previous reports have shown that the LIM homeodomain transcription factor MEC-3 is required for all higher order PVD branching and that one of its targets

SUBMITTER: O'Brien BMJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5714649 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature