Mapping somatosensory afferent circuitry to bone identifies neurotrophic signals required for fracture healing

Science 2026

View at publisher
Authors: Mingxin Xu, Zhao Bo Li, Neelima Thottappillil, Masnsen Cherief, Manyu Zhu, Xin Xing, Mario Gomez-Salazar, Chunbao Rao, Sowmya Ramesh, Juliet M. Mwirigi, Ishwarya Sankaranarayanan, Diana Tavares-Ferreira
+9 more Chi Zhang, Xue-Wei Wang, Mary Archer, Yun Guan, Robert J. Tower, Patrick Cahan, Theodore J. Price, Thomas Clemens, A. James
DOI: 10.1126/science.adr9608
Cited by: 31
References: 84

Abstract

The pain associated with bone fracture is mediated by somatosensory neurons, which also appear to be required to initiate bone regeneration. To characterize neuroanatomical circuitry mediating skeletal nociception and regeneration, we profiled dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons innervating murine bones using single-cell transcriptomics before and after fracture. CGRP + and Aβ-Field LTMR neurons were the most represented classes of bone-innervating neurons. Dynamic changes in sensory neuron response to injury reflected the phasic nature of bone repair, including expression of morphogens such as Tgfb1 , Fgf9 , and Shh . Innervation loss resulted in poor bone repair and was associated with defective mesenchymal cell proliferation and osteodifferentiation. Finally, we identified fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) as a major regulator of fracture repair that could be leveraged to promote bone repair.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms Planarian Biology and Electrostimulation Nerve injury and regeneration

Publication details

Journal / source
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Volume
391
Issue
6781
Pages
eadr9608–eadr9608
Publication date
8 January 2026
Language
EN