The mammalian sodium channel BNC1 is required for normal touch sensation

Margaret P. Price, Gary R. Lewin (), Sabrina L. McIlwrath, Chun Cheng, Jinghui Xie, Paul A. Heppenstall, Cheryl L. Stucky, Anne G. Mannsfeldt, Timothy J. Brennan, Heather A. Drummond, Jing Qiao, Christopher J. Benson, Deirdre E. Tarr, Ron F. Hrstka, Baoli Yang, Roger A. Williamson and Michael J. Welsh ()
Additional contact information
Margaret P. Price: Departments of Internal Medicine
Gary R. Lewin: Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine
Sabrina L. McIlwrath: Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine
Chun Cheng: Departments of Internal Medicine
Jinghui Xie: Departments of Internal Medicine
Paul A. Heppenstall: Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine
Cheryl L. Stucky: Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine
Anne G. Mannsfeldt: Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine
Timothy J. Brennan: Anesthesia
Heather A. Drummond: Departments of Internal Medicine
Jing Qiao: Departments of Internal Medicine
Christopher J. Benson: Departments of Internal Medicine
Deirdre E. Tarr: Departments of Internal Medicine
Ron F. Hrstka: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Baoli Yang: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Roger A. Williamson: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Michael J. Welsh: Departments of Internal Medicine

Nature, 2000, vol. 407, issue 6807, 1007-1011

Abstract: Abstract Of the vertebrate senses, touch is the least understood at the molecular level. The ion channels that form the core of the mechanosensory complex and confer touch sensitivity remain unknown1,2,3. However, the similarity of the brain sodium channel 1 (BNC1)4,5,6 to nematode proteins involved in mechanotransduction indicated that it might be a part of such a mechanosensor7,8. Here we show that disrupting the mouse BNC1 gene markedly reduces the sensitivity of a specific component of mechanosensation: low-threshold rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors. In rodent hairy skin these mechanoreceptors are excited by hair movement2. Consistent with this function, we found BNC1 in the lanceolate nerve endings that lie adjacent to and surround the hair follicle9. Although BNC1 has been proposed to have a role in pH sensing10,11, the acid-evoked current in cultured sensory neurons and the response of acid-stimulated nociceptors were normal in BNC1 null mice. These data identify the BNC1 channel as essential for the normal detection of light touch and indicate that BNC1 may be a central component of a mechanosensory complex.

Date: 2000
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DOI: 10.1038/35039512

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