by Keyword: Mechanosensor
Badiola-Mateos, M, Osaki, T, Kamm, RD, Samitier, J, (2022). In vitro modelling of human proprioceptive sensory neurons in the neuromuscular system Scientific Reports 12, 21318 
Proprioceptive sensory neurons (pSN) are an essential and undervalued part of the neuromuscular circuit. A protocol to differentiate healthy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) human neural stem cells (hNSC) into pSN, and their comparison with the motor neuron (MN) differentiation process from the same hNSC sources, facilitated the development of in vitro co-culture platforms. The obtained pSN spheroids cultured interact with human skeletal myocytes showing the formation of annulospiral wrapping-like structures between TrkC + neurons and a multinucleated muscle fibre, presenting synaptic bouton-like structures in the contact point. The comparative analysis of the genetic profile performed in healthy and sporadic ALS hNSC differentiated to pSN suggested that basal levels of ETV1, critical for motor feedback from pSN, were much lower for ALS samples and that the differences between healthy and ALS samples, suggest the involvement of pSN in ALS pathology development and progression.© 2022. The Author(s).
JTD Keywords: Amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis,pluripotent stem-cells,peripheral nervous-system,stretch reflex arc,mechanosensory circuit,cellular-localization,molecular-cloning,motor-neurons,muscle,expressio
Roux, Anabel-Lise Lee, Quiroga, Xarxa, Walani, Nikhil, Arroyo, Marino, Roca-Cusachs, Pere, (2019). The plasma membrane as a mechanochemical transducer Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 374, (1779), 20180221
Cells are constantly submitted to external mechanical stresses, which they must withstand and respond to. By forming a physical boundary between cells and their environment that is also a biochemical platform, the plasma membrane (PM) is a key interface mediating both cellular response to mechanical stimuli, and subsequent biochemical responses. Here, we review the role of the PM as a mechanosensing structure. We first analyse how the PM responds to mechanical stresses, and then discuss how this mechanical response triggers downstream biochemical responses. The molecular players involved in PM mechanochemical transduction include sensors of membrane unfolding, membrane tension, membrane curvature or membrane domain rearrangement. These sensors trigger signalling cascades fundamental both in healthy scenarios and in diseases such as cancer, which cells harness to maintain integrity, keep or restore homeostasis and adapt to their external environment.
JTD Keywords: Plasma membrane, Mechanotransduction, Membrane tension, Mechanosensor
