The mechanisms underlying neuronal outgrowth after injury are poorly understood. In a Drosophila model of neuronal injury, knockout of the gene encoding the fly mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo (DmPiezo) in non-regenerating neurons resulted in substantial axon regrowth not observed in wild-type flies. In a mouse sensory neuron injury model (corneal sensory nerve laser ablation), conditional knockout of the gene encoding PIEZO1 (the mammalian homologue of DmPiezo) drove a relative increase in axon regeneration compared with controls. Thus, PIEZO channels may have an evolutionarily conserved role in inhibiting axon regeneration.
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Song, Y. et al. The mechanosensitive ion channel piezo inhibits axon regeneration. Neuron https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.01.050 (2019)
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Lewis, S. The mechanics of neural regeneration. Nat Rev Neurosci 20, 251 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-019-0154-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-019-0154-0