Characterisation of deep dorsal horn projection neurons in the spinal cord of the Phox2a::Cre mouse line.

ABSTRACT: Projection neurons belonging to the anterolateral system (ALS) underlie the perception of pain, skin temperature and itch. Many ALS cells are located in laminae III-V of the dorsal horn and the adjacent lateral white matter. However, relatively little is known about the excitatory synaptic input to these deep ALS cells, and therefore about their engagement with the neuronal circuitry of the region. We have used a recently developed mouse line, Phox2a::Cre, to investigate a population of deep dorsal horn ALS neurons known as "antenna cells", which are characterised by dense innervation from peptidergic nociceptors, and to compare these with other ALS cells in the deep dorsal horn and lateral white matter. We show that these two classes differ, both in the density of excitatory synapses, and

SUBMITTER: Kokai E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9445510 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature