The transcription factor c-Maf controls touch receptor development and function

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	The transcription factor c-Maf controls touch receptor development and function
Creators Name:	Wende, H., Lechner, S.G., Cheret, C., Bourane, S., Kolanczyk, M.E., Pattyn, A., Reuter, K., Munier, F.L., Carroll, P., Lewin, G.R. and Birchmeier, C.
Abstract:	The sense of touch relies on detection of mechanical stimuli by specialized mechanosensory neurons. The scarcity of molecular data has made it difficult to analyze development of mechanoreceptors and to define the basis of their diversity and function. Here, we show that the transcription factor c-Maf/c-MAF is crucial for mechanosensory function in mice and humans. The development and function of several rapidly adapting mechanoreceptor types are disrupted in c-Maf mutant mice. In particular, Pacinian corpuscles, a type of mechanoreceptor specialized to detect high-frequency vibrations, are severely atrophied. In line with this, sensitivity to high-frequency vibration is reduced in humans carrying a dominant mutation in the c-MAF gene. Thus, our work identifies a key transcription factor specifying development and function of mechanoreceptors and their end organs.
Keywords:	Developmental Gene Expression Regulation, Large Maf Transcription Factors, Mechanoreceptors, Mutation, Pacinian Corpuscles, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-maf, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret, Skin, Spinal Ganglia, Touch, Vibration, Animals, Mice
Source:	Science
ISSN:	0036-8075
Publisher:	American Association for the Advancement of Science
Volume:	335
Number:	6074
Page Range:	1373-1376
Date:	16 March 2012
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1214314
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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