Transcriptional profiling of dental sensory and proprioceptive trigeminal neurons using single-cell RNA sequencing.
10.1038/s41368-023-00246-z
- Author:
Pa Reum LEE
1
;
Jihoon KIM
2
;
Heather Lynn ROSSI
3
;
Sena CHUNG
1
;
Seung Yub HAN
4
;
Junhyong KIM
5
;
Seog Bae OH
6
Author Information
1. Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
2. Genomics and Computational Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
3. Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
4. Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
5. Genomics and Computational Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. junhyong@sas.upenn.edu.
6. Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. odolbae@snu.ac.kr.
- Publication Type:Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- MeSH:
Animals;
Mice;
Neurons;
Proprioception;
Gene Expression Profiling;
Pain;
Sequence Analysis, RNA
- From:
International Journal of Oral Science
2023;15(1):45-45
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Dental primary afferent (DPA) neurons and proprioceptive mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (MTN) neurons, located in the trigeminal ganglion and the brainstem, respectively, are essential for controlling masticatory functions. Despite extensive transcriptomic studies on various somatosensory neurons, there is still a lack of knowledge about the molecular identities of these populations due to technical challenges in their circuit-validated isolation. Here, we employed high-depth single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) in combination with retrograde tracing in mice to identify intrinsic transcriptional features of DPA and MTN neurons. Our transcriptome analysis revealed five major types of DPA neurons with cell type-specific gene enrichment, some of which exhibit unique mechano-nociceptive properties capable of transmitting nociception in response to innocuous mechanical stimuli in the teeth. Furthermore, we discovered cellular heterogeneity within MTN neurons that potentially contribute to their responsiveness to mechanical stretch in the masseter muscle spindles. Additionally, DPA and MTN neurons represented sensory compartments with distinct molecular profiles characterized by various ion channels, receptors, neuropeptides, and mechanoreceptors. Together, our study provides new biological insights regarding the highly specialized mechanosensory functions of DPA and MTN neurons in pain and proprioception.
