Published June 25, 2021 | Version v1
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Mechanical Stretch Inhibition Sensitizes Proprioceptors to Compressive Stresses

Creators

  • 1. ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences

Contributors

Contact person:

  • 1. ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences

Description

A repetitive gait cycle is an archetypical component within the behavioural repertoire of many if not all
animals including humans. It originates from mechanical feedback within proprioceptors to adjust the
motorprogram during locomotion and thus leads to a periodic orbit in a low dimensional space. Here,
we investigate the mechanics, molecules and neurons responsible for proprioception in Caenorhabditis
(C.) elegans to gain insight into how mechanosensation shapes the orbital trajectory to a well-defined
limit cycle. We used genome editing, force spectroscopy and multiscale modeling and found that
alternating tension and compression with the spectrin network of a single proprioceptor encodes
body posture and informs TRP-4/NOMPC and TWK-16/TREK2 homologs of mechanosensitive
ion channels during locomotion. In contrast to a widely accepted model of proprioceptive ‘stretch’
reception, we found that proprioceptors activated locally under compressive stresses in vivo and in
vitro, and propose that this property leads to compartmentalized activity within long axons delimited
by curvature-dependent mechanical stresses.

Notes

Funder Grant Number Grant Recipient H2020 European Research Council 715243 Michael Krieg H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions 754510 Ravi Das Human Frontier Science Program CDA00023/2018 Michael Krieg Generalitat de Catalunya 2017 SGR 1012 Michael Krieg Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PGC2018-097882-A-I00 Michael Krieg Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad EQC2018-005048-P Michael Krieg Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad RYC-2016-21062 Michael Krieg Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CEX2019-000910-S Michael Krieg Fundacion La Caixa ID 100010434 Li-Chun Lin

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Additional details

Related works

Cites
Preprint: 10.1101/2020.12.30.422571 (DOI)

Funding

European Commission
MechanoSystems - How to build a brain? Engineering molecular systems for mechanosensation and -protection in neurons 715243
European Commission
PROBIST - COFUND BIST POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME 754510

References

  • Mechanical Stretch Inhibition Sensitizes Proprioceptors to Compressive Stresses