Identification of spinal circuits involved in touch-evoked dynamic mechanical pain.

ABSTRACT: Mechanical hypersensitivity is a debilitating symptom for millions of chronic pain patients. It exists in distinct forms, including brush-evoked dynamic and filament-evoked punctate hypersensitivities. We reduced dynamic mechanical hypersensitivity induced by nerve injury or inflammation in mice by ablating a group of adult spinal neurons defined by developmental co-expression of VGLUT3 and Lbx1 (VT3^Lbx1 neurons): the mice lost brush-evoked nocifensive responses and conditional place aversion. Electrophysiological recordings show that VT3^Lbx1 neurons form morphine-resistant polysynaptic pathways relaying inputs from low-threshold Aβ mechanoreceptors to lamina I output neurons. The subset of somatostatin-lineage neurons preserved in VT3^Lbx1-neuron-ablated mi

SUBMITTER: Cheng L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5470641 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature