Genetically labeled reporter mice enable detailed study of the sensory innervation of the murine knee joint

Purpose: Recent advances in molecular biology have revealed distinct sensory neuron subpopulations that display unique patterns of molecular markers and selectively encode different aspects of sensation. Proprioceptors express parvalbumin (PV) and the majority of nociceptors express the voltage-gated sodium channel, NaV1.8. These NaV1.8+ neurons can be further classified into distinct functional classes, including peptidergic TRPV1+ C-fibers...