-
Article
Open AccessA method for selective and efficient isolation of gray matter astrocytes from the spinal cord of adult mice
A growing body of evidence indicates intra- and inter-regional heterogeneity of astrocytes in the brain. However, because of a lack of an efficient method for isolating astrocytes from the spinal cord, little ...
-
Article
Open AccessSpatiotemporal dynamics of the CD11c+ microglial population in the mouse brain and spinal cord from developmental to adult stages
CD11c-positive (CD11c+) microglia have attracted considerable attention because of their potential implications in central nervous system (CNS) development, homeostasis, and disease. However, the spatiotemporal d...
-
Article
Open AccessAnterior cingulate cross-hemispheric inhibition via the claustrum resolves painful sensory conflict
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) responds to noxious and innocuous sensory inputs, and integrates them to coordinate appropriate behavioral reactions. However, the role of the projections of ACC neurons to ...
-
Article
Open AccessMacrophages play a leading role in determining the direction of astrocytic migration in spinal cord injury via ADP-P2Y1R axis
After spinal cord injury (SCI), inflammatory cells such as macrophages infiltrate the injured area, and astrocytes migrate, forming a glial scar around macrophages. The glial scar inhibits axonal regeneration,...
-
Article
Author Correction: Specification of CNS macrophage subsets occurs postnatally in defined niches
-
Article
Open AccessControlled activation of cortical astrocytes modulates neuropathic pain-like behaviour
Chronic pain is a major public health problem that currently lacks effective treatment options. Here, a method that can modulate chronic pain-like behaviour induced by nerve injury in mice is described. By com...
-
Article
Open AccessNeuronal pentraxin 2 is required for facilitating excitatory synaptic inputs onto spinal neurons involved in pruriceptive transmission in a model of chronic itch
An excitatory neuron subset in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) that expresses gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR) is critical for pruriceptive transmission. Here, we show that glutamatergic excitatory inpu...
-
Article
Specification of CNS macrophage subsets occurs postnatally in defined niches
All tissue-resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS)—including parenchymal microglia, as well as CNS-associated macrophages (CAMs1) such as meningeal and perivascular macrophages2–7—are part of the...
-
Article
Open AccessImprovement of the affinity of an anti-rat P2X4 receptor antibody by introducing electrostatic interactions
We have recently developed a mouse monoclonal antibody (12–10H) binding to the head domain region in rat P2X4 receptor (rP2X4R, which is crucial for the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain) expressed on the cell ...
-
Article
Open AccessStress-induced antinociception to noxious heat requires α1A-adrenaline receptors of spinal inhibitory neurons in mice
It is well known that acute exposure to physical stress produces a transient antinociceptive effect (called stress-induced analgesia [SIA]). One proposed mechanism for SIA involves noradrenaline (NA) in the ce...
-
Article
Open AccessActivation of spinal dorsal horn astrocytes by noxious stimuli involves descending noradrenergic signaling
Astrocytes are critical regulators of neuronal function in the central nervous system (CNS). We have previously shown that astrocytes in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) have increased intracellular Ca2+ levels follo...
-
Article
Open Accessα1A-adrenaline receptors in dorsal horn inhibitory neurons have an inhibitory role in the regulation of chloroquine-induced itch in mice
Our previous study showed the intrinsic ability of descending noradrenergic neurons projecting from the locus coeruleus to the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) to suppress itch-related behaviors. Noradrenaline and α1A-ad...
-
Article
Spinal astrocytes in superficial laminae gate brainstem descending control of mechanosensory hypersensitivity
Astrocytes are critical regulators of CNS function and are proposed to be heterogeneous in the develo** brain and spinal cord. Here we identify a population of astrocytes located in the superficial laminae o...
-
Article
Open AccessIntrinsic braking role of descending locus coeruleus noradrenergic neurons in acute and chronic itch in mice
Itch is defined as an unpleasant sensation that provokes a desire to scratch. Our understanding of neuronal circuits for itch information transmission and processing in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) has progres...
-
Article
Open AccessExpression of the pacemaker channel HCN4 in excitatory interneurons in the dorsal horn of the murine spinal cord
In the central nervous system, hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN1–4) channels have been implicated in neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission. It has been reported that HCN chan...
-
Article
The liver–brain–gut neural arc maintains the Treg cell niche in the gut
Recent clinical and experimental evidence has evoked the concept of the gut–brain axis to explain mutual interactions between the central nervous system and gut microbiota that are closely associated with the ...
-
Article
Open AccessModulation of P2Y6R expression exacerbates pressure overload-induced cardiac remodeling in mice
Cardiac tissue remodeling caused by hemodynamic overload is a major clinical outcome of heart failure. Uridine-responsive purinergic P2Y6 receptor (P2Y6R) contributes to the progression of cardiovascular remodeli...
-
Article
Open AccessHyperactivation of proprioceptors induces microglia-mediated long-lasting pain in a rat model of chronic fatigue syndrome
Patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or fibromyalgia experience chronic pain. Concomitantly, the rat model of CFS exhibits microglial activation in the lumbar spinal cord and pain behavior wi...
-
Article
Evidence for detection of rat P2X4 receptor expressed on cells by generating monoclonal antibodies recognizing the native structure
P2X purinergic receptors are ATP-driven ionic channels expressed as trimers and showing various functions. A subtype, the P2X4 receptor present on microglial cells is highly involved in neuropathic pain. In th...
-
Article
Open AccessInterleukin-27 controls basal pain threshold in physiological and pathological conditions
Numerous studies have shown that pain sensation is affected by various immune molecules, such as cytokines, in tissues comprising the sensory pathway. Specifically, it has been shown that interleukin (IL)-17 p...
