Acutely Dissociated Sensory Neurons: Normal or Neuropathic? Focus on: “Dissociation of Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons Induces Hyperexcitability That Is Maintained by Increased Responsiveness to cAMP and cGMP”

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. LaMotte
Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (11) ◽  
pp. 2639-2648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Cornell ◽  
Judith S. Eisen

In zebrafish, cells at the lateral edge of the neural plate become Rohon-Beard primary sensory neurons or neural crest. Delta/Notch signaling is required for neural crest formation. ngn1 is expressed in primary neurons; inhibiting Ngn1 activity prevents Rohon-Beard cell formation but not formation of other primary neurons. Reducing Ngn1 activity in embryos lacking Delta/Notch signaling restores neural crest formation, indicating Delta/Notch signaling inhibits neurogenesis without actively promoting neural crest. Ngn1 activity is also required for later development of dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons; however, Rohon-Beard neurons and dorsal root ganglion neurons are not necessarily derived from the same precursor cell. We propose that temporally distinct episodes of Ngn1 activity in the same precursor population specify these two different types of sensory neurons.


1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 1793-1798 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Womack ◽  
E. W. McCleskey

1. Using patch-clamp methods, we show that brief prepulses to very positive voltages increase (facilitate) the amplitude of current through Ca2+ channels during a subsequent test pulse in some, but not all, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons. The amplitude of this facilitated current generally increases when the Ca2+ channels are inhibited by activation of the mu-opioid receptor. 2. The facilitated current is blocked by omega-conotoxin GVIA, activates in the range of high-threshold Ca2+ channels, and inactivates at relatively negative holding voltages. Thus facilitated current passes through N-type Ca2+ channels, the same channels that are inhibited by opioids and control neurotransmitter release in sensory neurons. 3. Although maximal facilitation occurs only at unphysiologically high membrane potentials (above +100 mV), some facilitation is seen after prepulses to voltages reached during action potentials. After return to the holding potential, facilitation persists for hundreds of milliseconds, considerably longer than in other neurons. Brief trains of pulses designed to mimic action potentials caused small facilitation (19% of maximal) in a fraction (8 of 24) of opioid-inhibited neurons. 4. We conclude that 1) prepulses to extremely positive voltages can cause partial recovery of Ca2+ channels inhibited by opioids; and 2) small, but detectable, facilitation is also seen after physiological stimulation in some DRG neurons. Facilitation, largely considered a biophysical epiphenomenon because of the extreme voltages used to induce it, appears to be physiologically relevant during opioid inhibition of Ca2+ channels in DRG neurons.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. e1600990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward C. Emery ◽  
Ana P. Luiz ◽  
Shafaq Sikandar ◽  
Rán Magnúsdóttir ◽  
Xinzhong Dong ◽  
...  

Mechanistic insights into pain pathways are essential for a rational approach to treating this vast and increasing clinical problem. Sensory neurons that respond to tissue damage (nociceptors) may evoke pain sensations and are typically classified on the basis of action potential velocity. Electrophysiological studies have suggested that most of the C-fiber nociceptors are polymodal, responding to a variety of insults. In contrast, gene deletion studies in the sensory neurons of transgenic mice have frequently resulted in modality-specific deficits. We have used an in vivo imaging approach using the genetically encoded fluorescent calcium indicator GCaMP to study the activity of dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons in live animals challenged with painful stimuli. Using this approach, we can visualize spatially distinct neuronal responses and find that >85% of responsive dorsal root ganglion neurons are modality-specific, responding to either noxious mechanical, cold, or heat stimuli. These observations are mirrored in behavioral studies of transgenic mice. For example, deleting sodium channel Nav1.8 silences mechanical- but not heat-sensing sensory neurons, consistent with behavioral deficits. In contrast, primary cultures of axotomized sensory neurons show high levels of polymodality. After intraplantar treatment with prostaglandin E2, neurons in vivo respond more intensely to noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli, and additional neurons (silent nociceptors) are unmasked. Together, these studies define polymodality as an infrequent feature of nociceptive neurons in normal animals.


Cephalalgia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 033310242198926
Author(s):  
Miklós Lengyel ◽  
Dominika Hajdu ◽  
Alice Dobolyi ◽  
Judit Rosta ◽  
Gábor Czirják ◽  
...  

Background TWIK-related spinal cord potassium channel (TRESK) background potassium channels have a key role in controlling resting membrane potential and excitability of sensory neurons. A frameshift mutation leading to complete loss of TRESK function has been identified in members of a family suffering from migraine with aura. In the present study, we examined the role of TRESK channels on nociceptor function in mice. Methods Calcium imaging was used to investigate the role of TRESK channels in the modulation of the response evoked by transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor stimulation in dorsal root ganglion neurons. Release of calcitonin gene-related peptide from trigeminal afferents and changes in meningeal blood flow were also measured. Experiments were performed on wild-type and TRESK knockout animals. Results Inhibition of TRESK increased the TRPV1-mediated calcium signal in dorsal root ganglion neurons and potentiated capsaicin-induced increases in calcitonin gene-related peptide release and meningeal blood flow. Activation of TRESK decreased the capsaicin sensitivity of sensory neurons, leading to an attenuation of capsaicin-induced increase in meningeal blood flow. In TRESK knockout animals, TRPV1-mediated nociceptive reactions were unaffected by pretreatment with TRESK modulators. Conclusions Pharmacological manipulation of TRESK channels influences the TRPV1-mediated functions of nociceptors. Altered TRESK function might contribute to trigeminal nociceptor sensitization in migraine patients.


2002 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 650-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Leffler ◽  
Theodore R. Cummins ◽  
Sulayman D. Dib-Hajj ◽  
William N. Hormuzdiar ◽  
Joel A. Black ◽  
...  

Uninjured C-type rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons predominantly express slowly inactivating TTX-resistant (TTX-R) and slowly repriming TTX-sensitive (TTX-S) Na+ currents. After peripheral axotomy, TTX-R current density is reduced and rapidly repriming TTX-S currents emerge and predominate. The change in TTX-S repriming kinetics is paralleled by an increase in the level of transcripts and protein for the Nav1.3 sodium channel α-subunit, which is known to exhibit rapid repriming. Changes in Na+current profile and kinetics in DRG neurons may substantially alter neuronal excitability and could contribute to some states of chronic pain associated with injury of sensory neurons. In the present study, we asked whether glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF), which have been shown to prevent some axotomy-induced changes such as the loss of TTX-R Na+ current expression in DRG neurons, can ameliorate the axotomy-induced change in TTX-S Na+ current repriming kinetics. We show that intrathecally administered GDNF and NGF, delivered individually, can partially reverse the effect of axotomy on the repriming kinetics of TTX-S Na+ currents. When GDNF and NGF were co-administered, the repriming kinetics were fully rescued. We observed parallel effects of GDNF and NGF on the Nav1.3 sodium channel transcript levels in axotomized DRG. Both GDNF and NGF were able to partially reverse the axotomy-induced increase in Nav1.3 mRNA, with GDNF plus NGF producing the largest effect. Our data indicate that both GDNF and NGF can partially reverse an important effect of axotomy on the electrogenic properties of sensory neurons and that their effect is additive.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Blasa ◽  
Valentina Pastori ◽  
Alessia D’Aloia ◽  
Marzia M. Lecchi

We induced differentiation in F-11 cells to verify if they could show similarities with sensory neurons, in order to develop an alternative to animal models for research studies in the biomedical field.


2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bossowska ◽  
M. Majewski

Conantokin G-induced changes in the chemical coding of dorsal root ganglion neurons supplying the porcine urinary bladder Conantokin G (CTG), isolated from the venom of the marine cone snail Conus geographus, is an antagonist of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), the activation of which, especially those located on the central afferent terminals and dorsal horn neurons, leads to hypersensitivity and pain. Thus, CTG blocking of NMDARs, has an antinociceptive effect, particularly in the case of neurogenic pain treatment. As many urinary bladder disorders are caused by hyperactivity of sensory bladder innervation, it seems useful to estimate the influence of CTG on the plasticity of sensory neurons supplying the organ. Retrograde tracer Fast Blue (FB) was injected into the urinary bladder wall of six juvenile female pigs. Three weeks later, intramural bladder injections of CTG (120 μg per animal) were carried out in all animals. After a week, dorsal root ganglia of interest were harvested from all animals and neurochemical characterization of FB+ neurons was performed using a routine double-immunofluorescence labeling technique on 10-μm-thick cryostat sections. CTG injections led to a significant decrease in the number of FB+ neurons containing substance P (SP), pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP), somatostatin (SOM), calbindin (CB) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) when compared with healthy animals (20% vs. 45%, 13% vs. 26%, 1.3% vs. 3%, 1.2 vs. 4% and 0.9% vs. 6% respectively) and to an increase in the number of cells immunolabelled for galanin (GAL, 39% vs. 6.5%). These data demonstrated that CTG changed the chemical coding of bladder sensory neurons, thus indicating that CTG could eventually be used in the therapy of selected neurogenic bladder illnesses.


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