(223) Anatomical Organization and Functional Contributions of NK1R Spinal Projection Neurons in Pain and Itch

Dissecting the spinal circuitry of pain and itch has been limited by a lack of genetic tools to label discrete subpopulations of spinal neurons. In particular, markers for spinal projection neurons are lacking, and thus the contributions of spinal projection neurons to somatosensation are largely unknown. Currently the only known marker for spinal projection neurons is neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R), which captures the majority of spinal projection neurons. While neurotoxic ablation studies have provided evidence demonstrating the importance of NK1R spinal projection neurons to itch and hyperalgesia, interpretation of these studies is limited by ambiguities in the time course, specificity, and extent of neuronal death.
Source: The Journal of Pain - Category: Materials Science Authors: Source Type: research