PIEZO ion channels: force sensors of the interoceptive nervous system.

Authors

Yasmeen M F Hamed
Britya Ghosh
Kara L Marshall

Language

English

Publication Date

10-1-2024

Journal

The Journal of Physiology

DOI

10.1113/JP284077

PMID

38456626

PMCID

PMC11845038

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

10-1-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Abstract

Many organs are designed to move: the heart pumps each second, the gastrointestinal tract squeezes and churns to digest food, and we contract and relax skeletal muscles to move our bodies. Sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system detect signals from bodily tissues, including the forces generated by these movements, to control physiology. The processing of these internal signals is called interoception, but this is a broad term that includes a wide variety of both chemical and mechanical sensory processes. Mechanical senses are understudied, but rapid progress has been made in the last decade, thanks in part to the discovery of the mechanosensory PIEZO ion channels (Coste et al., 2010). The role of these mechanosensors within the interoceptive nervous system is the focus of this review. In defining the transduction molecules that govern mechanical interoception, we will have a better grasp of how these signals drive physiology.

Keywords

Humans, Ion Channels, Animals, Interoception, Mechanotransduction, Cellular, Interoception, PIEZO1, PIEZO2, Sensory neurons, Mechanosensation, Proprioception, Urinary bladder, Gastrointestinal tract

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Yasmeen M F Hamed, Britya Ghosh, and Kara L Marshall, "PIEZO ion channels: force sensors of the interoceptive nervous system." (2024). Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications. 163.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/duncar_nri_pub/163