A mouse DRG genetic toolkit reveals morphological and physiological diversity of somatosensory neuron subtypes

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.006
• Publication Date: 2024-03-04T15:32:50Z
• Authors: Lijun Qi; Michael Iskols; David Shi; Pranav Reddy; Christopher Walker; Karina Lezgiyeva; Tiphaine Voisin; Mathias Pawlak; Vijay K. Kuchroo; Isaac M. Chiu; David D. Ginty; Nikhil Sharma
• Keywords: Mice; Sensory Receptor Cells; Ganglia, Spinal; Animals

Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) somatosensory neurons detect mechanical, thermal, and chemical stimuli acting on the body. Achieving a holistic view of how different DRG neuron subtypes relay neural signals from periphery to CNS has been challenging with existing tools. Here, we develop curate mouse genetic toolkit that allows for interrogating properties functions distinct cutaneous targeting subtypes. These tools have enabled broad morphological analysis, which revealed axon arborization areas branching patterns transcriptionally Moreover, in vivo physiological analysis each subtype threshold range responses mechanical and/or thermal stimuli. findings support model morphologically physiologically sensory tile stimulus space collectively encode wide natural