Transcriptional reprogramming of distinct peripheral sensory neuron subtypes after axonal injury

Primary somatosensory neurons specialize in transmitting distinct types of sensory information through differences in cell size, myelination, and the expression of various receptors and ion channels, which together define their transcriptional and functional identity. By profiling sensory ganglia at single-cell resolution, we find that the different somatosensory neuronal subtypes undergo a similar transcriptional response to peripheral nerve injury that both promotes axonal regeneration and suppresses cell identity. This transcriptional reprogramming, which is not observed in non-neuronal cells from sensory ganglia, resolves over a similar time course as target reinnervation and is associated with the restoration of original cell identity. Injury-induced transcriptional reprogramming requires ATF3, a transcription factor which is induced rapidly after injury and necessary for axonal regeneration and functional recovery. Our findings suggest that the transcription factors induced early after peripheral sensory neuron injury promote their transcriptional and functional metamorphosis, analogous to their known roles in reprogramming cell fate.