Article
Neurosciences
Bharadwaj Nandakumar, Gary H. Blumenthal, Francois Philippe Pauzin, Karen A. Moxon
Summary: Mapping studies in rats revealed relatively weak sensorimotor integration between trunk S1 and M1, while trunk M1 is mainly guided by hindlimb somatosensory information. Neuronal recordings during postural perturbations further support sensorimotor integration between hindlimb S1 and trunk M1, providing insights for studying postural control and recovery after injury.
Review
Cell Biology
Aidan McGinnis, Ru-Rong Ji
Summary: Preclinical studies have found that glial cells play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain in conditions such as diabetes, chemotherapy, major surgeries, and virus infections. Satellite glial cells (SGCs) in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) exhibit similar characteristics and functions in the genesis of neuropathic pain. However, SGCs are not simply peripheral astrocytes and have unique roles and interactions. Recent findings also suggest that SGCs are enriched with proteins related to fatty acid metabolism, which may have implications for novel therapeutic approaches targeting glial cells.
Article
Surgery
Chao Xu, TianYu Liu, YunPeng Zhang, Yi Feng
Summary: In this study, bioinformatics analysis was conducted to identify mechanisms for more effective treatments of neuropathic pain. Seven hub genes and potential targeting miRNA related to the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain were identified, expanding understanding of the mechanism and facilitating treatment development.
ASIAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Ying Zhao, Qiang Wang, Chen Xie, Yuling Cai, Xue Chen, Yuhui Hou, Liu He, Jianping Li, Min Yao, Shuangxi Chen, Wutian Wu, Xiaojia Chen, An Hong
Summary: This study developed a novel low-molecular-weight peptide agonist CH02 targeting FGFR, which effectively promoted nerve regeneration, enhanced axon growth of sensory neurons, and robustly improved nerve regeneration and sensory-motor behavioral recovery in a rat spinal dorsal root injury model.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Jianshu Ni, Takahisa Suzuki, Sergei V. Karnup, Baojun Gu, Naoki Yoshimura
Summary: The neutralization of nerve growth factor (NGF) can reverse the Na+ channel plasticity of bladder afferent neurons in mice with spinal cord injury (SCI), which may be a possible underlying mechanism of bladder afferent hyperexcitability and detrusor overactivity after SCI.
Article
Toxicology
Masatake Fujimura, Fusako Usuki, Atsushi Nakamura
Summary: The study revealed that MeHg exposure caused neurological damage in rats, leading to neuropathic pain, mainly through the activation of microglia in the dorsal horn. Furthermore, analysis of the cerebral cortex showed that MeHg exposure could result in the formation of new cortical circuits in specific areas, leading to hyperalgesia/allodynia.
ARCHIVES OF TOXICOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Kelsi N. Dodds, Melinda A. Kyloh, Lee Travis, Elizabeth A. H. Beckett, Nick J. Spencer
Summary: This study provides the first detailed description of spinal afferent nerve endings in the uterus of a vertebrate. Various morphological types of spinal afferent nerve endings were identified in different anatomical layers of the uterine wall. Compared to other visceral organs, the uterine spinal afferent endings displayed less morphological diversity, with few neurons in nodose ganglia innervating the uterus.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Valentina Dzreyan, Moez Eid, Stanislav Rodkin, Maria Pitinova, Svetlana Demyanenko
Summary: This study investigated the expression and localization of E2F1 after axonal injury and found that axotomy increased the expression of E2F1 in neurons. The study also suggested that E2F1 and downstream targets could be potential molecular targets for the development of neuroprotective agents.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Tyler S. Nelson, Heather N. Allen, Paramita Basu, Pranav Prasoon, Eileen Nguyen, Cynthia M. Arokiaraj, Diogo F. S. Santos, Rebecca P. Seal, Sarah E. Ross, Andrew J. Todd, Bradley K. Taylor
Summary: Neuropeptide Y targets the Y1 receptor to produce analgesia in the spinal dorsal horn. The Y1-INs, which express the Y1 receptor, are necessary and sufficient for neuropathic hypersensitivity. This study identified three subpopulations of Y1-INs based on their coexpression with gastrin releasing peptide, neuropeptide FF, and cholecystokinin. Among these subpopulations, the Grp/Npy1r-INs were found to be conserved in higher order mammalian species and may represent a promising target for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Svetlana Demyanenko, Maria A. Pitinova, Yulia N. Kalyuzhnaya, Andrey M. Khaitin, Svetlana A. Batalshchikova, Natalya M. Dobaeva, Yulia A. Shevtsova, Kirill Goryunov, Egor Y. Plotnikov, Svetlana G. Pashkevich, Gennady T. Sukhikh, Denis N. Silachev
Summary: Peripheral nerve injury is a significant medical problem without effective treatment currently. However, the use of multipotent mesenchymal cells (MSCs)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) shows promise in promoting the regeneration of peripheral nerves after injury. In a rat model of sciatic nerve injury, the application of MSCs-EVs gel significantly reduced muscle atrophy and improved functional recovery. The results suggest that this therapeutic approach may be efficient for the treatment of acute peripheral nervous system injuries.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jing Xia, Dan Xiao, Heyi Luo, Jin Jin, Siyuan Ge, Xianglian Wang, Guichang Zou, Wei Xiong
Summary: Neuropathic pain is a complicated condition, but a study has found that spinal GlyRα1 is a key element in an intrinsic compensatory mechanism to alleviate the pain. This mechanism involves enhanced inhibitory glycinergic transmission and increased GlyRα1 protein expression levels. The upregulation of GlyRα1 is achieved through an intracellular signaling pathway. The study also suggests that a synthetic nonpsychoactive cannabinoid can potentiate spinal GlyR function and ultimately alleviate neuropathic pain.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Lina Huang, Dilip Sharma, Xiaozhou Feng, Zhiqiang Pan, Shaogen Wu, Daisy Munoz, Alex Bekker, Huijuan Hu, Yuan-Xiang Tao
Summary: The study found that RALY, an RNA-binding protein, plays a role in nerve trauma-induced nociceptive hypersensitivity by regulating the expression of translation initiation factor Eif4g2 in dorsal root ganglion neurons. Interventions targeting RALY expression levels could alleviate the development and maintenance of pain hypersensitivity.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Marc Leal-Julia, Jorge J. Vilches, Andrea Onieva, Sergi Verdes, Angela Sanchez, Miguel Chillon, Xavier Navarro, Assumpcio Bosch
Summary: This study characterized the proteome of neural tissues in a type 2 diabetes mouse model and identified differential protein expression profiles related to reduced glycolytic and TCA cycle metabolism, increased lipid catabolism, dysregulation of muscle-like proteins, altered cytoskeleton-related proteins, activation of inflammatory responses, and changes in glutathione metabolism and oxidative stress. These findings suggest that energy deficiency may play a key role in the neurodegeneration observed in diabetic neuropathy.
MOLECULAR METABOLISM
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kjeld Morten Mohr, Lone Tjener Pallesen, Mette Richner, Christian Bjerggaard Vaegter
Summary: Satellite glial cells (SGCs) surrounding neuronal somas are sensitive to neuronal stressors and exhibit induced gliosis, however, GFAP may not be a universally suitable marker for SGC reactivity across species and experimental models.
Article
Biology
Minh Q. Nguyen, Lars J. von Buchholtz, Ashlie N. Reker, Nicholas J. P. Ryba, Steve Davidson
Summary: Through single nuclear transcriptomics of human DRG neurons, it was found that different types of neurons share similarities in their transcriptomic features, but there are species differences in the expression of genes related to sensory function. Surprisingly, several transcriptomic classes without clear equivalents in other species were identified.