Published papers

The skin is exposed to various external stimuli. Keratinocytes, which are the main cell type in the epidermis, interact with peripheral sensory neurons and modulate neuronal activity. Recent studies have revealed that keratinocytes play crucial roles in nociception, and that ATP is one of the main mediators of signal transduction from keratinocytes to sensory neurons. However, no quantitative cellular level analyses of ATP-mediated information flow from keratinocytes to sensory dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons have been conducted. In this study, we performed simultaneous imaging of cell surface ATP and intracellular Ca2+ signals using both iATPSnFR, a genetically encoded ATP probe localized to the outside of the cell membrane, and the Ca2+ probe, Fura-red. Upon mechanical stimulation of the keratinocyte with a glass needle, an increase in Ca2+ and ATP release were observed around the stimulated area, and these phenomena were positively correlated. In cultured DRG neurons and keratinocytes neighboring the stimulated keratinocyte, increased intracellular Ca2+ concentration and levels of cell surface ATP on the side closer to the stimulated cell were detected. The ratio of Ca2+ response to input ATP signal was significantly larger in DRG neurons than in keratinocytes. We found that DRG neurons were more sensitive to ATP than keratinocytes, and therefore, only DRG neurons responded to ATP at 1 μM or lower concentrations when in co-culture with keratinocytes. Moreover, signals caused by moderate mechanical stimulation of keratinocytes were transmitted predominantly to DRG neurons. These findings would be important in the further determination of the detailed mechanism of nociception in the epidermis.

In many species, individual social animals interact with others in their group and change their collective behaviours. For the solitary nematode Caenorhabditis elegans strain N2, previous research suggests that individuals can change the behaviour of other worms via pheromones and mechanosensory interactions. In particular, pheromones affect foraging behaviour, so that the chemotactic behaviours of individuals in a group (population) can be modulated by interactions with other individuals in the population. To investigate this, we directly compared the chemotactic behaviours of isolated (single) worms with those of individual animals within a population. We found that worms approached an odour source in a distinct manner depending on whether they were alone or in a population. Analysis of behaviours of the N2 worm and a pheromone production-defective mutant revealed that the 'pirouette' strategy was modulated by interaction of the worms via pheromones. Thus, pheromones play an important role in the characteristic collective behaviours seen in the population condition.

The importance of highly active mitochondria and their contribution to neuronal function has been of recent interest. In most cases, however, mitochondrial activity is estimated using measurements of mitochondrial inner membrane potential (IMPmito), and little is known about the dynamics of native mitochondrial ATP (ATPmito). This study conducted simultaneous imaging of IMPmito and ATPmito in neurons to explore their behaviour and their correlation during physiological mitochondrial/neuronal activity. We found that mitochondrial size, transport velocity and transport direction are not dependent on ATPmito or IMPmito. However, changes in ATPmito and IMPmito during mitochondrial fission/fusion were found; IMPmito depolarized via mitochondrial fission and hyperpolarized via fusion, and ATPmito levels increased after fusion. Because the density of mitochondria is higher in growth cones (GCs) than in axonal processes, integrated ATPmito signals (density × ATPmito) were higher in GCs. This integrated signal in GCs correlated with axonal elongation. However, while the averaged IMPmito was relatively hyperpolarized in GCs, there was no correlation between IMPmito in GCs and axonal elongation. A detailed time-course analysis performed to clarify the reason for these discrepancies showed that IMPmito and ATPmito levels did not always correlate accurately; rather, there were several correlation patterns that changed over time.