Normal sensitivity of the Drosophila larval nociceptor requires the activity of the Wg/WNT signaling pathway. When the nociceptor expression of Wg/WNT co-receptor Arrow, Drosophila ortholog of LRP5/6, is impaired by RNA interference, the larva becomes significantly hyposensitive to noxious thermal and mechanical stimulation. The reduced sensitivity was not associated with significant changes in dendritic architecture.
Flanagan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.