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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 ...
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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...
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Article
Open AccessChemogenetic silencing of GABAergic dorsal horn interneurons induces morphine-resistant spontaneous nocifensive behaviours
Inhibitory interneurons in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) are crucial for processing somatosensory information originating in the periphery. However, the effects of the acute and selective inactivation of GABAer...
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Article
Open AccessGlucocorticoid regulation of ATP release from spinal astrocytes underlies diurnal exacerbation of neuropathic mechanical allodynia
Diurnal variations in pain hypersensitivity are common in chronic pain disorders, but the underlying mechanisms are enigmatic. Here, we report that mechanical pain hypersensitivity in sciatic nerve-injured mic...
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Article
Open AccessDorsal horn neurons release extracellular ATP in a VNUT-dependent manner that underlies neuropathic pain
Activation of purinergic receptors in the spinal cord by extracellular ATP is essential for neuropathic hypersensitivity after peripheral nerve injury (PNI). However, the cell type responsible for releasing AT...
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Article
Open AccessBone marrow-derived cells in the population of spinal microglia after peripheral nerve injury
Accumulating evidence indicates that peripheral nerve injury (PNI) activates spinal microglia that are necessary for neuropathic pain. Recent studies using bone marrow (BM) chimeric mice have reported that aft...
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Article
Open AccessA new minimally-invasive method for microinjection into the mouse spinal dorsal horn
Noninvasive gene delivery to the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) remains challenging because existing methods to directly microinject vectors require laminectomy, which leads to tissue damage and inflammation. Such r...
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Article
STAT3-dependent reactive astrogliosis in the spinal dorsal horn underlies chronic itch
In response to signals from afferent TRPV1+ C-fibers, STAT3-dependent upregulation of LCN2 in reactive astrocytes of the spinal dorsal horn amplifies itch signaling in multiple rodent models of atopic and contact...
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Article
Open AccessActivation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 in dorsal root ganglion neurons by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II after peripheral nerve injury
Peripheral nerve injury leads to a persistent neuropathic pain state in which innocuous stimulation elicits pain behavior (tactile allodynia), but the underlying mechanisms have remained largely unknown. We ha...
