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Papers of the Week


Papers: 3 Jul 2021 - 9 Jul 2021


Animal Studies


2021 Jul 13


Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A


118


28

Editor's Pick

Pain and itch processing by subpopulations of molecularly diverse spinal and trigeminal projection neurons.

Authors

Wercberger R, Braz JM, Weinrich JA, Basbaum AI
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Jul 13; 118(28).
PMID: 34234018.

Abstract

A remarkable molecular and functional heterogeneity of the primary sensory neurons and dorsal horn interneurons transmits pain- and or itch-relevant information, but the molecular signature of the projection neurons that convey the messages to the brain is unclear. Here, using retro-TRAP (translating ribosome affinity purification) and RNA sequencing, we reveal extensive molecular diversity of spino- and trigeminoparabrachial projection neurons. Among the many genes identified, we highlight distinct subsets of -, -, -, and -expressing projection neurons. By combining in situ hybridization of retrogradely labeled neurons with Fos-based assays, we also demonstrate significant functional heterogeneity, including both convergence and segregation of pain- and itch-provoking inputs into molecularly diverse subsets of NK1R- and non-NK1R-expressing projection neurons.