Logo image
Innocuous pressure sensation requires A-type afferents but not functional ΡΙΕΖΟ2 channels in humans
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Innocuous pressure sensation requires A-type afferents but not functional ΡΙΕΖΟ2 channels in humans

Laura K Case, Jaquette Liljencrantz, Nicholas Madian, Aaron Necaise, Justin Tubbs, Micaela McCall, Megan L Bradson, Marcin Szczot, Mark H Pitcher, Nima Ghitani, …
Nature communications, Vol.12(1), pp.657-657
01/28/2021
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-20939-5
PMCID: PMC7844252
PMID: 33510158
url
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-20939-5View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The sensation of pressure allows us to feel sustained compression and body strain. While our understanding of cutaneous touch has grown significantly in recent years, how deep tissue sensations are detected remains less clear. Here, we use quantitative sensory evaluations of patients with rare sensory disorders, as well as nerve blocks in typical individuals, to probe the neural and genetic mechanisms for detecting non-painful pressure. We show that the ability to perceive innocuous pressures is lost when myelinated fiber function is experimentally blocked in healthy volunteers and that two patients lacking Aβ fibers are strikingly unable to feel innocuous pressures at all. We find that seven individuals with inherited mutations in the mechanoreceptor PIEZO2 gene, who have major deficits in touch and proprioception, are nearly as good at sensing pressure as healthy control subjects. Together, these data support a role for Aβ afferents in pressure sensation and suggest the existence of an unknown molecular pathway for its detection.
Mutation Adult Aged Female Humans Ion Channels - genetics Ion Channels - physiology Male Mechanoreceptors - metabolism Mechanoreceptors - physiology Middle Aged Nerve Block - methods Pressure Proprioception - genetics Proprioception - physiology Sensation - physiology Sensation Disorders - diagnosis Sensation Disorders - genetics Sensation Disorders - physiopathology Skin - innervation Skin - physiopathology Touch - physiology Young Adult

Details

Metrics

Logo image