A genetic basis for mechanosensory traits in humans.

PLoS Biology
Henning FrenzelGary R Lewin

Abstract

In all vertebrates hearing and touch represent two distinct sensory systems that both rely on the transformation of mechanical force into electrical signals. There is an extensive literature describing single gene mutations in humans that cause hearing impairment, but there are essentially none for touch. Here we first asked if touch sensitivity is a heritable trait and second whether there are common genes that influence different mechanosensory senses like hearing and touch in humans. Using a classical twin study design we demonstrate that touch sensitivity and touch acuity are highly heritable traits. Quantitative phenotypic measures of different mechanosensory systems revealed significant correlations between touch and hearing acuity in a healthy human population. Thus mutations in genes causing deafness genes could conceivably negatively influence touch sensitivity. In agreement with this hypothesis we found that a proportion of a cohort of congenitally deaf young adults display significantly impaired measures of touch sensitivity compared to controls. In contrast, blind individuals showed enhanced, not diminished touch acuity. Finally, by examining a cohort of patients with Usher syndrome, a genetically well-characterized...Continue Reading

References

Dec 1, 1991·Archives of Otolaryngology--head & Neck Surgery·D LafreniereJ Sasek
May 1, 1995·Hearing Research·D McFadden, J C Loehlin
Jan 1, 1996·Somatosensory & Motor Research·J C Stevens, L A Cruz
Apr 25, 2000·American Journal of Hypertension·J TankM Weck
Jul 6, 2000·Neurology·R W Van BovenA Pascual-Leone
Nov 30, 2000·Neurology·J R Ponsford
Mar 13, 2001·Hypertension·J TankA Busjahn
Apr 5, 2001·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·J J Zwislocki, E M Relkin
Aug 29, 2001·Bioinformatics·G R AbecasisL R Cardon
Mar 14, 2002·Journal of the American Geriatrics Society·K ChristensenH J Hoffman
Jul 30, 2002·Nature Neuroscience·H OlaussonM C Bushnell
Oct 31, 2002·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Jan SiemensUlrich Müller
Feb 26, 2003·BMC Geriatrics·Meg StuartVincent Nguyen
Feb 21, 2004·Human Molecular Genetics·Elisabet EinarsdottirMonica Holmberg
May 5, 2004·Comprehensive Psychiatry·Eun-Jeong JooYong Sik Kim
Jul 24, 2004·American Journal of Human Genetics·Benjamin M Neale, Pak C Sham
Sep 14, 2004·Journal of Neurobiology·Gary R Lewin, Rabih Moshourab
Mar 9, 2005·Lancet·Richard J H SmithKarl R White
Jun 21, 2005·Lancet·Margaret Rennels, Larry K Pickering
Sep 20, 2005·NeuroImage·Gina Caetano, Veikko Jousmäki
Oct 14, 2005·Journal of the Peripheral Nervous System : JPNS·Yea-Huey LinSung-Tsang Hsieh
Feb 21, 2006·NeuroImage·Martin SchürmannRiitta Hari
Apr 26, 2006·Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology·Renata Rodrigues Teixeira de CastroAntonio Claudio Lucas da Nobrega
Sep 12, 2006·Journal of Medical Genetics·Frans P M CremersHannie Kremer
Sep 16, 2006·Inflammation Research : Official Journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et Al.]·H GaoB-O Nilsson
Sep 22, 2006·Human Molecular Genetics·Hannie KremerRonald Roepman
Dec 15, 2006·Nature·James J CoxC Geoffrey Woods
Mar 16, 2007·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Xiaoqing LiuTiansen Li
Mar 24, 2007·Perception & Psychophysics·Daniel Goldreich, Ingrid M Kanics
Apr 25, 2007·The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences·Anne ViljanenTaina Rantanen
Jun 15, 2007·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Nicolas MichalskiChristine Petit

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Mar 26, 2014·Nature Communications·Kate PooleGary R Lewin
Jan 31, 2014·Experimental Brain Research·Benedetta Heimler, Francesco Pavani
Dec 3, 2014·Physiology & Behavior·Richard L DotyFidias E Leon-Sarmiento
Sep 30, 2014·Nature Neuroscience·Nevena MilenkovicJames F A Poulet
Jun 14, 2012·Cerebral Cortex·Tony RoMichael S Beauchamp
Aug 17, 2012·Journal of Hypertension·Jens Jordan, Jens Tank
Feb 18, 2016·Neural Plasticity·M S HoudeF Champoux
Jun 21, 2016·EBioMedicine·Rabih MoshourabSimone Spuler
Mar 16, 2013·Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine·Chih-Cheng Chen, Chia-Wen Wong
Dec 22, 2014·Neuropharmacology·Damir OmerbašićGary R Lewin
Feb 6, 2015·Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience·Nadine HauthalJeremy D Thorne
Jul 31, 2013·Pain·Javeria A Hashmi, Karen D Davis
Jul 2, 2014·Pflügers Archiv : European journal of physiology·Kate PooleGary R Lewin
Sep 23, 2016·The New England Journal of Medicine·Alexander T CheslerCarsten G Bönnemann
Nov 6, 2012·Progress in Neurobiology·Burkhard Pleger, Arno Villringer
Dec 4, 2016·Annals of Biomedical Engineering·P Sáez, A M Zöllner
Dec 7, 2016·Vision Research·Lukasz GrzeczkowskiMichael H Herzog
Sep 30, 2017·Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education·Benedetta HeimlerFrancesco Pavani
May 16, 2018·Scientific Reports·Albulena ShaqiriMichael H Herzog
Oct 27, 2018·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Zaira CattaneoCostanza Papagno
Dec 13, 2019·Journal of Vision·Aline F CretenoudMichael H Herzog
Aug 9, 2020·Journal of Vision·Aline F CretenoudMichael H Herzog
Jun 28, 2017·Scientific Reports·Rabih MoshourabGary R Lewin
Nov 15, 2019·Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science·Carla Fuster-GarcíaJosé M Millán
Mar 26, 2020·Neuron·Ricardo Paricio-MontesinosGary R Lewin
Jul 3, 2021·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Carla Fuster-GarcíaGema García-García

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
chip
SANS

Software Mentioned

Illumina Genome studio
VisualNumerics
QVALUE
Mx
PV
wave
GraphPad Prism

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Auditory Perception

Auditory perception is the ability to receive and interpret information attained by the ears. Here is the latest research on factors and underlying mechanisms that influence auditory perception.

Adhesion Molecules in Health and Disease

Cell adhesion molecules are a subset of cell adhesion proteins located on the cell surface involved in binding with other cells or with the extracellular matrix in the process called cell adhesion. In essence, cell adhesion molecules help cells stick to each other and to their surroundings. Cell adhesion is a crucial component in maintaining tissue structure and function. Discover the latest research on adhesion molecule and their role in health and disease here.

Cadherins and Catenins

Cadherins (named for "calcium-dependent adhesion") are a type of cell adhesion molecule (CAM) that is important in the formation of adherens junctions to bind cells with each other. Catenins are a family of proteins found in complexes with cadherin cell adhesion molecules of animal cells: alpha-catenin can bind to β-catenin and can also bind actin. β-catenin binds the cytoplasmic domain of some cadherins. Discover the latest research on cadherins and catenins here.

Adherens Junctions

An adherens junction is defined as a cell junction whose cytoplasmic face is linked to the actin cytoskeleton. They can appear as bands encircling the cell (zonula adherens) or as spots of attachment to the extracellular matrix (adhesion plaques). Adherens junctions uniquely disassemble in uterine epithelial cells to allow the blastocyst to penetrate between epithelial cells. Discover the latest research on adherens junctions here.