Expression of Neuropeptide FF Defines a Population of Excitatory Interneurons in the Superficial Dorsal Horn of the Mouse Spinal Cord that Respond to Noxious and Pruritic Stimuli

Autor: Andrew M. Bell, Erika Polgár, Andrew J. Todd, Masahiko Watanabe, Maria Gutierrez-Mecinas
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
0301 basic medicine
substance P
ERK
extracellular signal-regulated kinases

neurotensin
CCK
cholecystokinin

Substance P
pERK
phospho-ERK

chemistry.chemical_compound
0302 clinical medicine
Gastrin-releasing peptide
Neuropeptide FF
Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases
Neurons
education.field_of_study
gastrin releasing peptide
General Neuroscience
LSN
lateral spinal nucleus

NKB
neurokinin B

cholecystokinin
Posterior Horn Cells
medicine.anatomical_structure
Gastrin-Releasing Peptide
Spinal Cord
eGFP
enhanced green fluorescent protein

Excitatory postsynaptic potential
LPb
lateral parabrachial area

Neurokinin B
PKCγ
protein kinase Cγ isoform

Oligopeptides
Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn
CTb
cholera toxin B subunit

Population
Green Fluorescent Proteins
Neuropeptide
Mice
Transgenic

Biology
Article
neurokinin B
03 medical and health sciences
GRP
gastrin releasing peptide

Interneurons
NPFF
neuropeptide FF

medicine
Animals
education
ALT
anterolateral tract

Spinal cord
030104 developmental biology
chemistry
nervous system
Neuroscience
NPFF
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
DAPI
4′
6-diamidino-2-phenylindole
Zdroj: Neuroscience
ISSN: 1873-7544
0306-4522
Popis: The great majority of neurons in the superficial dorsal horn of the spinal cord are excitatory interneurons, and these are required for the normal perception of pain and itch. We have previously identified 5 largely non-overlapping populations among these cells, based on the expression of four different neuropeptides (cholecystokinin, neurotensin, neurokinin B and substance P) and of green fluorescent protein driven by the promoter for gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) in a transgenic mouse line. Another peptide (neuropeptide FF, NPFF) has been identified among the excitatory neurons, and here we have used an antibody against the NPFF precursor (pro-NPFF) and a probe that recognises Npff mRNA to identify and characterise these cells. We show that they are all excitatory interneurons, and are separate from the five populations listed above, accounting for ~ 6% of the excitatory neurons in laminae I-II. By examining phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases, we show that the NPFF cells can respond to different types of noxious and pruritic stimulus. Ablation of somatostatin-expressing dorsal horn neurons has been shown to result in a dramatic reduction in mechanical pain sensitivity, while somatostatin released from these neurons is thought to contribute to itch. Since the great majority of the NPFF cells co-expressed somatostatin, these cells may play a role in the perception of pain and itch.
Highlights • NPFF is expressed by around 6% of the excitatory interneurons in the superficial dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord. • NPFF cells differ from those that express substance P, cholecystokinin, neurotensin or neurokinin B. • Although some NPFF cells express gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), they do not express GFP in a GRP-GFP mouse line. • Some NPFF cells are activated by noxious or pruritic stimuli.
Databáze: OpenAIRE