Touch-induced mechanical strain in somatosensory neurons is independent of extracellular matrix mutations in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: Cutaneous mechanosensory neurons are activated by mechanical loads applied to the skin, and these stimuli are proposed to generate mechanical strain within sensory neurons. Using a microfluidic device to deliver controlled stimuli to intact animals and large, immobile, and fluorescent protein-tagged mitochondria as fiducial markers in the touch receptor neurons (TRNs), we visualized and measured touch-induced mechanical strain in Caenorhabditis elegans worms. At steady state, touch stimuli sufficient to activate TRNs induce an average strain of 3.1% at the center of the actuator and this strain decays to near zero at the edges of the actuator. We also measured strain in animals carrying mutations affecting links between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the TRNs but could not detec

SUBMITTER: Nekimken AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7521855 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature