ABSTRACT: Transcription profiling of nodose or dorsal root ganglion visceral sensory neurons from mice infected with N. brasiliensis and/or subjected to environmental stress
Project description:Background & Aims: Visceral hypersensitivity, a hallmark of irritable bowel syndrome, is generally considered to be mechanosensitive in nature and mediated via spinal afferents. Both stress and inflammation are implicated in visceral hypersensitivity, but the underlying molecular mechanisms of visceral hypersensitivity are unknown. <br> Methods: Mice were infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (Nb) larvae, exposed to environmental stress and the following separate studies performed 3-4 weeks later. Mesenteric afferent nerve activity was recorded in response to either ramp balloon distension (60 mmHg), or to an intraluminal perfusion of hydrochloric acid (50 mM), or to octreotide administration (2 µM). Intraperitoneal injection of cholera toxin B-488 identified neurons projecting to the abdominal viscera. Fluorescent neurons in dorsal root and nodose ganglia were isolated using laser-capture microdissection. RNA was hybridised to Affymetrix Mouse whole genome arrays for analysis to evaluate the effects of stress and infection. <br> Results: In mice previously infected with Nb, there was no change in intestinal afferent mechanosensitivity, but there was an increase in chemosensitive responses to intraluminal hydrochloric acid when compared to control animals. Gene expression profiles in vagal but not spinal visceral sensory neurons were significantly altered in stressed Nb-infected mice. Decreased afferent responses to somatostatin receptor 2 stimulation correlated with lower expression of vagal somatostatin receptor 2 in stressed Nb-infected mice, confirming a link between molecular data and functional sequelae. <br> Conclusions: Alterations in the intestinal brain-gut axis, in chemosensitivity but not mechanosensitivity, and through vagal rather than spinal pathways, are implicated in stress-induced post-inflammatory visceral hypersensitivity.
Project description:Nociceptors play an essential role in both acute pain and chronic pain conditions. In this study, we examined the proteome of mouse dorsal root ganglia and compared NaV1.8Cre+/-; ROSA26-flox-stop-flox-DTA (Diphtheria toxin fragment A) mutant mice (NaV1.8Cre-DTA), in which NaV1.8-positive neurons (mainly nociceptors) in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were ablated, with respective littermate wildtype controls.
Project description:We generated whole-genome gene expression profiles of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons following nerve damage. DRG neurons extend one peripheral axon into the spinal nerve and one central axon into the dorsal root. The peripheral axon regenerates vigorously, while in contrast the central axon has little regenerative capacity. For this study, two groups of animals were subjected either to sciatic nerve (SN) or dorsal root (DR) crush, and at 12, 24, 72 hours and 7 days after the crush, lumbar DRGs L4, L5 and L6 were dissected and total RNA was extracted.
Project description:We generated whole-genome gene expression profiles of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons following nerve damage. DRG neurons extend one peripheral axon into the spinal nerve and one central axon into the dorsal root. The peripheral axon regenerates vigorously, while in contrast the central axon has little regenerative capacity. For this study, two groups of animals were subjected either to sciatic nerve (SN) or dorsal root (DR) crush, and at 12, 24, 72 hours and 7 days after the crush, lumbar DRGs L4, L5 and L6 were dissected and total RNA was extracted. For each time point after lesion, three biological replicate RNA samples were hybridized together with the common reference sample consisting of labeld RNA pooled from three unlesioned animals.
Project description:The goal of this study was to analyze global gene expression in specific populations of somatosensory neurons in the periphery, including major, non-overlapping populations that include nociceptors, pruriceptors, and prorioceptors. The mammalian somatosensory nervous system encodes the perception of specific environmental stimuli. The dorsal root ganglion (DRG) contains distinct somatosensory neuron subtypes that innervate diverse peripheral tissues, mediating the detection of thermal, mechanical, proprioceptive, pruriceptive, and nociceptive stimuli. We purified discrete subtypes of mouse DRG somatosensory neurons by flow cytometry using fluorescently labeled mouse lines (SNS-Cre/TdTomato, Parv-Cre/TdTomato) in combination with Isolectin B4-FITC surface staining (IB4). This allowed identification of transcriptional differences between these major populations, revealing enrichment of voltage-gated ion channels, TRP channels, G-protein coupled receptors, transcription factors, and other functionally important classes of genes within specific somatosensory neuron subsets. SNS-Cre mice were bred with Rosa26-TdTomato mice to generate SNS-Cre/TdTomato reporter mice. Parv-Cre mice were bred with Rosa26-TdTomato mice to generate Parv-Cre/TdTomato mice. Isolectin B4-FITC was used to stain the surface of SNS-Cre/TdTomato reporter mice. We used these strategies of fluorescent labeling to purify distinct murine sensory neuron subsets from the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Neurons were sorted directly in Qiazol for total RNA extraction and microarray analysis. Whole DRG tissue was also included for transcriptome analysis to compare with purified neuronal populations.
Project description:Mental disorders are caused by genetic and environmental factors. We here show that deficiency of an isoform of dopamine D2 receptor (D2R), D2LR, causes psychosocial stress vulnerability in mouse. This occurs through dysfunction of type 1A serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) receptor (5-HT1AR) on serotonergic neurons in the mouse brain. Exposure to forced swim stress significantly increased anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in D2LR knockout (D2LR-KO) male mice as compared with wild-type mice. Treatment with 8-OH-DPAT, a 5-HT1AR agonist, failed to alleviate the stress-induced behaviors in D2LR-KO mice. In forced swim-stressed D2LR-KO mice, 5-HT release in the medial prefrontal cortex was elevated and the expression of genes related to 5-HT levels was up-regulated by the transcription factor PET1 in the dorsal raphe nucleus. Notably, D2LR formed a heteromer with 5-HT1AR in serotonergic neurons, thereby suppressing 5-HT1AR–activated G-protein–activated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) conductance in D2LR-KO serotonergic neurons. Finally, D2LR overexpression in serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus alleviated stress vulnerability observed in D2LR-KO mice. Taken together, we conclude that disruption of the negative feedback regulation by the D2LR/5-HT1A heteromer causes stress vulnerability.
Project description:Sensory neurons were extracted from the dorsal root or trigeminal ganglia of AdvGFP transgenic mice and their molecular profile analysed via RNA-seq.