has soma location has soma location expresses expresses sensory neuron of dorsal root ganglion sacral dorsal root ganglion RET neuron 2026-03-13T11:13:54Z A non-peptidergic nociceptor whose soma is located in the sacral dorsal root ganglion and that expresses the receptor tyrosine kinase RET (encoded by RET). This neuron is distinguished from peptidergic nociceptors by its dependence on glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor family ligands rather than nerve growth factor, and in rodents it characteristically binds isolectin B4. In human DRG, RET-immunoreactive neurons constitute approximately 46% of TrkA-positive neurons, a significantly higher proportion than the 23% observed in mouse (Rostock et al. 2018, PMID:29229553), indicating an expanded non-peptidergic nociceptor compartment in humans. non-peptidergic nociceptor proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase receptor Ret sacral dorsal root ganglion