A vagal-brainstem interoceptive circuit for cough-like defensive behaviors in mice
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ABSTRACT:
PROVIDER: PRJNA1118360 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
Dataset's files
| Action | DRS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SRR29240855_1.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz | |||
| SRR29240855_2.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz | |||
| SRR29240856_1.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz | |||
| SRR29240856_2.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz | |||
| SRR29240857_1.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz |
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Project description:Respiratory defensive behaviors, like coughing, play a crucial role in protecting the respiratory system, ensuring its integrity and optimal function. How these critical behaviors are regulated by sensory stimuli within the body remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) in mice, a key hub in the brain for processing internal sensory signals and mediating interoceptive processes, contains heterogenous neuronal populations that differentially control breathing. Within these subtypes, activation of tachykinin 1 (Tac1) neurons triggers a specific respiratory behavior. Our detailed characterization of respiratory defensive behaviors reveals that these responses are cough-like behaviors. Chemogenetic silencing or genetic ablation of Tac1 neurons significantly reduces cough-like behaviors induced by tussive challenges. These Tac1 neurons receive synaptic inputs from the bronchopulmonary chemosensory and mechanosensory neurons in the vagal ganglion, and directly integrate the medullary regions to control sequential phases of cough-like defensive behaviors. We propose that these Tac1 neurons are a key component of the airway-vagal-brain neural circuit that controls cough-like defensive behaviors in mice, and they coordinate the downstream modular circuits to elicit the sequential motor pattern of forceful expiratory responses.
2024-06-05 | GSE268741 | GEO
Project description:Interoception, the ability to timely and precisely sense changes inside the body, is critical for survival. Vagal sensory neurons (VSNs) form an important body-to-brain axis, navigating along body’s rostral-caudal axis to their target organs and dive across organ’s surface-lumen axis into appropriate tissue layers to sense stimuli with various physical properties. The brain can discriminate numerous body signals through VSNs, yet the underlying molecular coding strategy remains poorly understood. Here we show that VSNs code visceral organ, tissue layer, and stimulus modality, three key features of an interoceptive signal, in different dimensions. Large-scale single-cell profiling of VSNs from seven major organs, including the lung, heart, stomach, esophagus, duodenum, pancreas, and transverse colon, using multiplexed projection-barcodes reveals a ‘visceral organ’ dimension composed of differentially expressed gene modules coding VSN target organs along body’s rostral-caudal axis. Surprisingly, we discover another ‘tissue layer’ dimension with gene modules coding VSN ending locations along organ’s surface-lumen axis. The three independent feature-coding dimensions together specify many parallel VSN pathways in a combinatorial fashion and facilitate complex VSN projection in the brainstem. Our study thus highlights a novel multidimensional coding architecture of the mammalian vagal interoceptive system for effective signal communication.
2022-01-07 | GSE192987 | GEO
Project description:Coughing is a respiratory behavior that plays a crucial role in protecting the respiratory system. Here we show that the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) in mice contains heterogenous neuronal populations that differentially control breathing. Within these subtypes, activation of tachykinin 1 (Tac1)-expressing neurons triggers specific respiratory behaviors that, as revealed by our detailed characterization, are cough-like behaviors. Chemogenetic silencing or genetic ablation of Tac1 neurons inhibits cough-like behaviors induced by tussive challenges. These Tac1 neurons receive synaptic inputs from the bronchopulmonary chemosensory and mechanosensory neurons in the vagal ganglion and coordinate medullary regions to control distinct aspects of cough-like defensive behaviors. We propose that these Tac1 neurons in the NTS are a key component of the airway-vagal-brain neural circuit that controls cough-like defensive behaviors in mice and that they coordinate the downstream modular circuits to elicit the sequential motor pattern of forceful expiratory responses.
| S-EPMC11374482 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A molecular architecture of the vagal interoceptive system
| PRJNA794066 | ENA
Project description:Aging is accompanied by declining memory function, necessitating the development of effective countermeasures1. Brain- extrinsic factors influencing cognitive decline, including the intestinal microbiome, have emerged as attractive targets for peripheral interventions2-6, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. Here, by charting a high-resolution map of microbiome aging and its functional consequences throughout the lifespan of mice, we identify a mechanism whereby age- associated inhibition of gut-brain signalling results in impaired novelty-induced neuronal activation in the hippocampus and loss of memory encoding. Specifically, gut bacteria producing medium-chain fatty acids, such as Parabacteroides goldsteinii, accumulate over the lifespan and drive intestinal myeloid cell inflammation through GPR84 signalling. As a result, the function of afferent gut-innervating vagal neurons is impaired, the interoceptive signal received by the brain is weakened, and hippocampal function declines. We leverage this pathway to define interventions that restore memory in aged mice, such as phage targeting of Parabacteroides, GPR84 inhibition, and restoration of vagal activity. These findings indicate a key role for interoceptive signalling from the gastrointestinal tract in regulating brain aging and suggest that interoceptomimetics that stimulate gut-brain communication may counteract age-associated cognitive decline.
2025-11-22 | GSE307836 | GEO
Project description:Aging is accompanied by declining memory function, necessitating the development of effective countermeasures1. Brain- extrinsic factors influencing cognitive decline, including the intestinal microbiome, have emerged as attractive targets for peripheral interventions2-6, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. Here, by charting a high-resolution map of microbiome aging and its functional consequences throughout the lifespan of mice, we identify a mechanism whereby age- associated inhibition of gut-brain signalling results in impaired novelty-induced neuronal activation in the hippocampus and loss of memory encoding. Specifically, gut bacteria producing medium-chain fatty acids, such as Parabacteroides goldsteinii, accumulate over the lifespan and drive intestinal myeloid cell inflammation through GPR84 signalling. As a result, the function of afferent gut-innervating vagal neurons is impaired, the interoceptive signal received by the brain is weakened, and hippocampal function declines. We leverage this pathway to define interventions that restore memory in aged mice, such as phage targeting of Parabacteroides, GPR84 inhibition, and restoration of vagal activity. These findings indicate a key role for interoceptive signalling from the gastrointestinal tract in regulating brain aging and suggest that interoceptomimetics that stimulate gut-brain communication may counteract age-associated cognitive decline.
2025-11-22 | GSE307838 | GEO
Project description:Aging is accompanied by declining memory function, necessitating the development of effective countermeasures1. Brain- extrinsic factors influencing cognitive decline, including the intestinal microbiome, have emerged as attractive targets for peripheral interventions2-6, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. Here, by charting a high-resolution map of microbiome aging and its functional consequences throughout the lifespan of mice, we identify a mechanism whereby age- associated inhibition of gut-brain signalling results in impaired novelty-induced neuronal activation in the hippocampus and loss of memory encoding. Specifically, gut bacteria producing medium-chain fatty acids, such as Parabacteroides goldsteinii, accumulate over the lifespan and drive intestinal myeloid cell inflammation through GPR84 signalling. As a result, the function of afferent gut-innervating vagal neurons is impaired, the interoceptive signal received by the brain is weakened, and hippocampal function declines. We leverage this pathway to define interventions that restore memory in aged mice, such as phage targeting of Parabacteroides, GPR84 inhibition, and restoration of vagal activity. These findings indicate a key role for interoceptive signalling from the gastrointestinal tract in regulating brain aging and suggest that interoceptomimetics that stimulate gut-brain communication may counteract age-associated cognitive decline.
2025-11-22 | GSE307834 | GEO
Project description:Background and Aims Interoceptive impacts on the brain triggered by changes in the intestinal microbial ecosystem influence mood-related behaviors such as anxiety and depression. Although changes in the gut microbiome can be driven by genetic mutations in the host, how alterations in the gut microbiome caused by host genetic variations affect behavioral outcomes is not fully understood. To investigate how host genetic variation affects interoceptive responses, we analyzed the gut microbiota and investigated gut–brain interactions in sirtuin 3 (Sirt3)-knockout (KO) mice. Methods We evaluated the composition of the gut microbiome and behavior in Sirt3-KO and wild-type (WT) mice. To distinguish microbiome-driven effects from genetic influences, we conducted cohousing experiments and compared results with heterozygous littermates. Region-specific changes in gene expression in the brain were identified by transcriptomic profiling of the limbic system. We also analyzed metabolites in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) generated by gut microbiome–vagal signaling. The role of the vagus nerve in the gut-brain axis was further examined through vagotomy, alongside comparative choline analysis in both mood disorder patients and mice. Results Mood-related neurobehavioral changes and alterations in synaptic plasticity-related genes in the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) of Sirt3-KO mice appeared to be dependent on gut microbiome composition. Elevated plasma choline levels in both mood disorder patients and Sirt3-KO mice, together with reduced neurotransmitter-related metabolites (e.g., -aminobutyric acid [GABA] in the NTS), suggested that externalizing behaviors in Sirt3-KO mice are mediated by vagus nerve-dependent gut–brain axis signaling. Consistent with this, vagotomy abolished these changes, including GABA in the NTS, as well as alterations in synaptic plasticity in the amygdala and BNST. Conclusions Our findings suggest the novel finding that an altered gut microbiome caused by a host genetic change, namely a Sirt3 deficiency, is sensed in the NTS of the brain via the vagus nerve, leading to externalizing behaviors.
2025-10-09 | GSE305243 | GEO
Project description:Energy homeostasis requires precise measurement of the quantity and quality of ingested food. The vagus nerve innervates the gut and can detect diverse interoceptive cues, but the identity of the key sensory neurons and corresponding signals that regulate food intake remains unknown. Here we use an approach for target-specific, single-cell RNA sequencing to generate a map of the vagal cell types that innervate the gastrointestinal tract. We show that unique molecular markers identify vagal neurons with distinct innervation patterns, sensory endings, and function. Surprisingly, we find that food intake is most sensitive to stimulation of mechanoreceptors in the intestine, whereas nutrient-activated mucosal afferents have no effect. Peripheral manipulations combined with central recordings reveal that intestinal mechanoreceptors, but not other cell types, potently and durably inhibit hunger-promoting AgRP neurons in the hypothalamus. These findings identify a key role for intestinal mechanoreceptors in the regulation of feeding.
2019-11-14 | GSE138651 | GEO
Project description:Sensory neurons evoke a suite of defensive reflexes to ensure airway integrity. Dysfunction of laryngeal neurons is life-threatening, causing pulmonary aspiration, dysphagia, and choking, yet relevant sensory pathways remain poorly understood. Here, we discover rare throat-innervating neurons (~100 neurons/mouse) that guard the airways against assault. We used genetic tools that broadly cover a vagal/glossopharyngeal sensory neuron atlas to map, ablate, and control specific afferent populations. Optogenetic activation of vagal P2RY1 neurons evokes a coordinated airway defense program- apnea, vocal fold adduction, swallowing, and expiratory reflexes. Selective ablation of vagal P2RY1 neurons eliminates protective responses to laryngeal water and acid challenge. Anatomical mapping revealed numerous terminal morphologies in the larynx, with P2RY1 neurons forming corpuscular endings that appose laryngeal taste buds. Epithelial cells are primary airway sentinels that communicate with second-order P2RY1 neurons through ATP. These findings provide mechanistic insights into airway defense, and a general molecular/genetic roadmap for internal organ sensation by the vagus nerve.
2020-04-05 | GSE145216 | GEO