scholarly journals Antinociceptive modulation by the adhesion-GPCR CIRL promotes mechanosensory signal discrimination

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Dannhäuser ◽  
Thomas J. Lux ◽  
Chun Hu ◽  
Mareike Selcho ◽  
Jeremy Tsung-Chieh Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
High Threshold ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Signal Discrimination ◽  
Low Threshold ◽  
Sensory Responses ◽  
Adhesion Gpcr ◽  
G Protein Coupled

ABSTRACTAdhesion-type G protein-coupled receptors (aGPCRs) participate in a vast range of physiological processes. Correspondingly, these receptors are associated with diverse human diseases, such as developmental disorders, defects of the nervous system, allergies and cancer. Several aGPCRs have recently been linked to mechanosensitive functions suggesting that processing of mechanical stimuli may be a common feature of this receptor family. CIRL (ADGRL/Latrophilin, LPHN), one of the oldest members of the aGPCR family, sensitizes sensory responses of larval Drosophila to gentle touch and sound by amplifying mechanosensory signal transduction in low-threshold mechanoreceptors (Scholz et al., 2015; 2017). In the present study, we show that Cirl is also expressed in high-threshold mechanical nociceptors where it adjusts nocifensive behaviour under physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Optogenetic in vivo experiments indicate that CIRL quenches cAMP levels in both mechanosensory submodalities. However, contrasting its effect in touch sensitive neurons, CIRL dampens the response of nociceptors to mechanical stimulation. Consistent with this finding, rat nociceptors display a drop in Cirl1 expression during allodynia. Taken together, these results demonstrate that CIRL exerts opposing modulatory functions in low-threshold mechanosensors and high-threshold nociceptors. This intriguing bipolar action likely facilitates the separation of mechanosensory signals carrying different physiological information.

scholarly journals Antinociceptive modulation by the adhesion GPCR CIRL promotes mechanosensory signal discrimination

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Dannhäuser ◽  
Thomas J Lux ◽  
Chun Hu ◽  
Mareike Selcho ◽  
Jeremy T-C Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Threshold ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
In Vivo Experiments ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Signal Discrimination ◽  
Low Threshold ◽  
Sensory Responses ◽  
Opposing Effects ◽  
Adhesion Gpcr

Adhesion-type GPCRs (aGPCRs) participate in a vast range of physiological processes. Their frequent association with mechanosensitive functions suggests that processing of mechanical stimuli may be a common feature of this receptor family. Previously, we reported that the Drosophila aGPCR CIRL sensitizes sensory responses to gentle touch and sound by amplifying signal transduction in low-threshold mechanoreceptors (Scholz et al., 2017). Here, we show that Cirl is also expressed in high-threshold mechanical nociceptors where it adjusts nocifensive behaviour under physiological and pathological conditions. Optogenetic in vivo experiments indicate that CIRL lowers cAMP levels in both mechanosensory submodalities. However, contrasting its role in touch-sensitive neurons, CIRL dampens the response of nociceptors to mechanical stimulation. Consistent with this finding, rat nociceptors display decreased Cirl1 expression during allodynia. Thus, cAMP-downregulation by CIRL exerts opposing effects on low-threshold mechanosensors and high-threshold nociceptors. This intriguing bipolar action facilitates the separation of mechanosensory signals carrying different physiological information.

scholarly journals Mechanisms of adhesion G protein–coupled receptor activation

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (41) ◽  
pp. 14065-14083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Vizurraga ◽  
Rashmi Adhikari ◽  
Jennifer Yeung ◽  
Maiya Yu ◽  
Gregory G. Tall
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Receptor Activation ◽  
G Protein Signaling ◽  
Protein Signaling ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Class B ◽  
Peptide Agonist ◽  
G Protein Coupled ◽  
Existing Structure

Adhesion G protein–coupled receptors (AGPCRs) are a thirty-three-member subfamily of Class B GPCRs that control a wide array of physiological processes and are implicated in disease. AGPCRs uniquely contain large, self-proteolyzing extracellular regions that range from hundreds to thousands of residues in length. AGPCR autoproteolysis occurs within the extracellular GPCR autoproteolysis-inducing (GAIN) domain that is proximal to the N terminus of the G protein–coupling seven-transmembrane–spanning bundle. GAIN domain–mediated self-cleavage is constitutive and produces two-fragment holoreceptors that remain bound at the cell surface. It has been of recent interest to understand how AGPCRs are activated in relation to their two-fragment topologies. Dissociation of the AGPCR fragments stimulates G protein signaling through the action of the tethered-peptide agonist stalk that is occluded within the GAIN domain in the holoreceptor form. AGPCRs can also signal independently of fragment dissociation, and a few receptors possess GAIN domains incapable of self-proteolysis. This has resulted in complex theories as to how these receptors are activated in vivo, complicating pharmacological advances. Currently, there is no existing structure of an activated AGPCR to support any of the theories. Further confounding AGPCR research is that many of the receptors remain orphans and lack identified activating ligands. In this review, we provide a detailed layout of the current theorized modes of AGPCR activation with discussion of potential parallels to mechanisms used by other GPCR classes. We provide a classification means for the ligands that have been identified and discuss how these ligands may activate AGPCRs in physiological contexts.

Excitation of primate spinothalamic neurons by cutaneous C-fiber volleys

1979 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1354-1369 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Chung ◽  
D. R. Kenshalo ◽  
K. D. Gerhart ◽  
W. D. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Range ◽  
High Threshold ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Spinothalamic Tract ◽  
Noxious Heat ◽  
C Fibers ◽  
C Fiber ◽  
Excitatory Action ◽  
Low Threshold ◽  
Lateral Nucleus

1. The responses of spinothalamic tract cells in the lumbosacral spinal cords of anesthetized monkeys were examined following electrical stimulation of the sural nerve or the application of noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli to the skin on the lateral aspect of the foot. 2. The spinothalamic tract neurons were classified as wide dynamic range (WDR), high-threshold (HT), or low-threshold (LT) cells on the basis of their responses to mechanical stimuli. 3. All of the WDR and HT spinothalamic tract cells tested responded to volleys in A- and C-fibers. However, strong C-fiber responses were more common in HT than in WDR cells. 4. The responses atributed to C-fibers were graded with the size of the C-fiber volley. The latencies of the responses attributed to C-fibers indicated that the fastest afferents involved had a mean conduction velocity of 0.9 m/s. The responses remained after anodal blockade of conduction in A-fibers. 5. Temporal summation of the responses of spinothalamic tract cells was demonstrated both to brief trains of stimuli at 33 Hz and to single stimuli repeated at 1- to 2-s intervals. The latter phenomenon is often called "windup." 6. The responses of several spinothalamic tract cells to noxious heat pulses could still be elicited during anodal blockade of conduction in A-fibers. Similarly, it was possible to demonstrate an excitatory action of noxious mechanical stimuli despite interference with conduction in A-fibers by anodal current. 7. The cells investigated were located either in the marginal zone or in the layers of the dorsal horn equivalent to Rexed's laminae IV-VI in the cat. The cells were generally activated antidromically from the caudal part of the ventral posterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus.

scholarly journals An ultrafast system for signaling mechanical pain in human skin

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. eaaw1297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saad S. Nagi ◽  
Andrew G. Marshall ◽  
Adarsh Makdani ◽  
Ewa Jarocka ◽  
Jaquette Liljencrantz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Human Skin ◽  
Single Unit ◽  
High Threshold ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Conduction Velocities ◽  
Low Threshold ◽  
Healthy Participants ◽  
Stimulation Of

The canonical view is that touch is signaled by fast-conducting, thickly myelinated afferents, whereas pain is signaled by slow-conducting, thinly myelinated (“fast” pain) or unmyelinated (“slow” pain) afferents. While other mammals have thickly myelinated afferents signaling pain (ultrafast nociceptors), these have not been demonstrated in humans. Here, we performed single-unit axonal recordings (microneurography) from cutaneous mechanoreceptive afferents in healthy participants. We identified A-fiber high-threshold mechanoreceptors (A-HTMRs) that were insensitive to gentle touch, encoded noxious skin indentations, and displayed conduction velocities similar to A-fiber low-threshold mechanoreceptors. Intraneural electrical stimulation of single ultrafast A-HTMRs evoked painful percepts. Testing in patients with selective deafferentation revealed impaired pain judgments to graded mechanical stimuli only when thickly myelinated fibers were absent. This function was preserved in patients with a loss-of-function mutation in mechanotransduction channel PIEZO2. These findings demonstrate that human mechanical pain does not require PIEZO2 and can be signaled by fast-conducting, thickly myelinated afferents.

scholarly journals SNAP-tagged nanobodies enable reversible optical control of a G protein-coupled receptor via a remotely tethered photoswitchable ligand

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Farrants ◽  
Amanda Acosta Ruiz ◽  
Vanessa A. Gutzeit ◽  
Dirk Trauner ◽  
Kai Johnsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Drug Targets ◽  
Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor ◽  
Receptor Activation ◽  
Metabotropic Glutamate ◽  
Extracellular Signals ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
G Protein Coupled

AbstractG protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) mediate the transduction of extracellular signals into complex intracellular responses. Despite their ubiquitous roles in physiological processes and as drug targets for a wide range of disorders, the precise mechanisms of GPCR function at the molecular, cellular, and systems levels remain partially understood. In order to dissect the function of individual receptors subtypes with high spatiotemporal precision, various optogenetic and photopharmacological approaches have been reported that use the power of light for receptor activation and deactivation. Here, we introduce a novel and, to date, most remote way of applying photoswitchable orthogonally remotely-tethered ligands (PORTLs) by using a SNAP-tag fused nanobody. Our nanobody-photoswitch conjugates (NPCs) can be used to target a GFP-fused metabotropic glutamate receptor by either gene-free application of purified complexes or co-expression of genetically encoded nanobodies to yield robust, reversible control of agonist binding and subsequent downstream activation. By harboring and combining the selectivity and flexibility of both nanobodies and self-labelling enzymes, we set the stage for targeting endogenous receptors in vivo.

G protein-mediated stretch reception

2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (6) ◽  
pp. H1241-H1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Storch ◽  
Michael Mederos y Schnitzler ◽  
Thomas Gudermann
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Receptor Activation ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Independent Functions ◽  
Cell Growth And Differentiation ◽  
G Protein Coupled ◽  
Mechanical Receptor ◽  
Receptor Conformation

Mechanosensation and -transduction are important for physiological processes like the senses of touch, hearing, and balance. The mechanisms underlying the translation of mechanical stimuli into biochemical information by activating various signaling pathways play a fundamental role in physiology and pathophysiology but are only poorly understood. Recently, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are essential for the conversion of light, olfactory and gustatory stimuli, as well as of primary messengers like hormones and neurotransmitters into cellular signals and which play distinct roles in inflammation, cell growth, and differentiation, have emerged as potential mechanosensors. The first candidate for a mechanosensitive GPCR was the angiotensin-II type-1 (AT1) receptor. Agonist-independent mechanical receptor activation of AT1 receptors induces an active receptor conformation that appears to differ from agonist-induced receptor conformations and entails the activation of G proteins. Mechanically induced AT1 receptor activation plays an important role for myogenic vasoconstriction and for the initiation of cardiac hypertrophy. A growing body of evidence suggests that other GPCRs are involved in mechanosensation as well. These findings highlight physiologically relevant, ligand-independent functions of GPCRs and add yet another facet to the polymodal activation spectrum of this ubiquitous protein family.

scholarly journals Caenorhabditis elegans PIEZO Channel Coordinates Multiple Reproductive Tissues to Govern Ovulation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofei Bai ◽  
Jeff Bouffard ◽  
Avery Lord ◽  
Katherine Brugman ◽  
Paul W. Sternberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Ion Channels ◽  
Calcium Signaling ◽  
Brood Size ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Reproductive Tissues ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractThe PIEZO proteins are involved in a wide range of developmental and physiological processes. Human PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 are newly identified excitatory mechano-sensitive proteins; they are non-selective ion channels that exhibit a preference for calcium in response to mechanical stimuli. To further understand the function of these proteins, we investigated the roles of pezo-1, the sole PIEZO ortholog in C. elegans. pezo-1 is expressed throughout development in C. elegans, with strong expression in reproductive tissues. A number of deletion alleles as well as a putative gain-of-function mutant caused severe defects in reproduction. A reduced brood size was observed in the strains depleted of PEZO-1. In vivo observations show that oocytes undergo a variety of transit defects as they enter and exit the spermatheca during ovulation. Post ovulation oocytes were frequently damaged during spermathecal contraction. Calcium signaling in the spermatheca is normal during ovulation in pezo-1 mutants, however, pezo-1 interacts genetically with known regulators of calcium signaling. Lastly, loss of PEZO-1 caused defective sperm navigation after being pushed out of the spermatheca during ovulation. Mating with males rescued these reproductive deficiencies in our pezo-1 mutants. These findings suggest that PEZO-1 may act in different reproductive tissues to promote proper ovulation and fertilization in C. elegans.

Platelet Microtubules in Clot Structure Formation and Contractile Force Generation: Investigation of a Controversy

1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (01) ◽  
pp. 023-027 ◽  
Author(s):  
C J Jen ◽  
L V McIntire
Keyword(s):  
Network Formation ◽  
Contractile Force ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Clot Retraction ◽  
Forming Process ◽  
Microtubule Organization ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Fibrin Network ◽  
Two Parameters

SummaryWhether platelet microtubules are involved in clot retraction/ contraction has been controversial. To address this question we have simultaneously measured two clotting parameters, clot structural rigidity and isometric contractile force, using a rheological technique. For recalcified PRP clots these two parameters began rising together at about 15 min after CaCl2 addition. In the concentration range affecting microtubule organization in platelets, colchicine, vinca alkaloids and taxol demonstrated insignificant effects on both clotting parameters of a recalcified PRP clot. For PRP clots induced by adding small amounts of exogenous thrombin, the kinetic curves of clot rigidity were biphasic and without a lag time. The first phase corresponded to a platelet-independent network forming process, while the second phase corresponded to a platelet-dependent process. These PRP clots began generating contractile force at the onset of the second phase. For both rigidity and force parameters, only the second phase of clotting kinetics was retarded by microtubule affecting reagents. When PRP samples were clotted by adding a mixture of CaCl2 and thrombin, the second phase clotting was accelerated and became superimposed on the first phase. The inhibitory effects of micro tubule affecting reagents became less pronounced. Thrombin clotting of a two-component system (washed platelets/ purified fibrinogen) was also biphasic, with the second phase being microtubule-dependent. In conclusion, platelet microtubules are important in PRP clotted with low concentrations of thrombin, during which fibrin network formation precedes platelet-fibrin interactions. On the other hand they are unimportant if a PRP clot is induced by recalcification, during which the fibrin network is constructed in the presence of platelet-fibrin interactions. The latter is likely to be more analogous to physiological processes in vivo.

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