Deletion of the murine ATP/UTP receptor P2Y2 alters mechanical and thermal response properties in polymodal cutaneous afferents

- We examine the impact of P2Y2 gene deletion on response properties of cutaneous sensory neurons.
- Loss of P2Y2 results in reduced firing to noxious heat in polymodal C-fibers.
- P2Y2−/− mice show an atypical population of mechanically sensitive afferents expressing TRPV1.
- Results indicate a role for P2Y2 in determining response properties of cutaneous sensory neurons.

P2Y2 is a member of the P2Y family of G protein-coupled nucleotide receptors that is widely co-expressed with TRPV1 in peripheral sensory neurons of the dorsal root ganglia. To characterize P2Y2 function in cutaneous afferents, intracellular recordings from mouse sensory neurons were made using an ex vivo preparation in which hindlimb skin, saphenous nerve, dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord are dissected intact. The peripheral response properties of individual cutaneous C-fibers were analyzed using digitally controlled mechanical and thermal stimuli in male P2Y2+/+ and P2Y2−/− mice. Selected sensory neurons were labeled with Neurobiotin and further characterized by immunohistochemistry. In wildtype preparations, C-fibers responding to both mechanical and thermal stimuli (CMH or CMHC) preferentially bound the lectin marker IB4 and were always immunonegative for TRPV1. Conversely, cells that fired robustly to noxious heat, but were insensitive to mechanical stimuli, were TRPV1-positive and IB4-negative. P2Y2 gene deletion resulted in reduced firing by TRPV1-negative CMH fibers to a range of heat stimuli. However, we also identified an atypical population of IB4-negative, TRPV1-positive CMH fibers. Compared to wildtype CMH fibers, these TRPV1-positive neurons exhibited lower firing rates in response to mechanical stimulation, but had increased firing to noxious heat (43-51 °C). Collectively, these results demonstrate that P2Y2 contributes to response properties of cutaneous afferents, as P2Y2 deletion reduces responsiveness of conventional unmyelinated polymodal afferents to heat and appears to result in the acquisition of mechanical responsiveness in a subset of TRPV1-expressing afferents.