“Runx”ing towards Sensory Differentiation

Abstract

Somatosensory stimuli are encoded by molecularly and anatomically diverse classes of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. In this issue of Neuron, three papers demonstrate that the Runx transcription factors, Runx1 and Runx3, respectively regulate the molecular identities and spinal terminations of TrkA+ nociceptive neurons and TrkC+ proprioceptive neurons. These findings emphasize the importance of intrinsic genetic programs in generating the diversity of DRG neurons and specifying the circuits into which they incorporate.