Role of PIEZO2 mechanosensitive ion channel in adipose sensory innervation

Molecular underpinning of adipose sensory innervation is not well understood.

The researchers identified that the mechanoreceptor PIEZO2 is abundantly expressed in fat-innervating sensory  dorsal root ganglia (DRG)  neurons and plays a crucial role in mediating the adipose afferent pathway.

PIEZO2 deletion in fat-innervating neurons induced transcriptional programs in adipose tissue resembling sympathetic activation, mirroring DRG ablation. Conversely, a gain-of-function PIEZO2 mutant shifted the adipose phenotypes in the opposite direction. 

https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(25)00062-2

https://sciencemission.com/PIEZO2-in-adipose-sensory-innervation