Neural representation of cytokines by vagal sensory neurons.

ABSTRACT: The nervous system coordinates with the immune system to detect and respond to harmful stimuli. Inflammation is a universal response to injury and infection that involves the release of cytokines. While it is known that information about cytokines is transmitted from the body to the brain, how the nervous system encodes specific cytokines in the form of neural activity is not well understood. Using in vivo calcium imaging, we show that vagal sensory neurons within the nodose ganglia exhibit distinct real-time neuronal responses to inflammatory cytokines. Some neurons respond selectively to individual cytokines, while others encode multiple cytokines with distinct activity patterns. In male mice with induced colitis, inflammation increased the baseline activity of these neurons but decrease

SUBMITTER: Huerta TS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12019601 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature