Cited by 92Pain Mechanisms and TreatmentsNeuropeptides and Animal PhysiologyNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

A quantitative study of neurochemically defined populations of inhibitory interneurons in the superficial dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord

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Boyle, Kieran A., Gutierrez-Mecinas, Maria, Polgár, Erika, Mooney, Nicole, O'Connor, Emily, Furuta, Takahiro, Watanabe, Masahiko, Todd, Andrew J.·2017·Neuroscience

Abstract

Around a quarter of neurons in laminae I-II of the dorsal horn are inhibitory interneurons. These play an important role in modulating somatosensory information, including that perceived as pain or itch. Previous studies in rat identified four largely non-overlapping neurochemical populations among these cells, defined by expression of galanin, neuropeptide Y (NPY), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) or parvalbumin. The galanin cells were subsequently shown to coexpress dynorphin. Several recent studies have used genetically modified mice to investigate the function of different interneuron populations, and it is therefore important to determine whether the same pattern applies in mouse, and to estimate the relative sizes of these populations. We show that the neurochemical organization of inhibitory interneurons in mouse superficial dorsal horn is similar to that in the rat, although a larger proportion of these neurons (33%) express NPY. Between them, these four populations account for ∼75% of inhibitory cells in laminae I-II. Since ∼25% of inhibitory interneurons in this region belong to a novel calretinin-expressing type, our results suggest that virtually all inhibitory interneurons in superficial dorsal horn can be assigned to one of these five neurochemical populations. Although our main focus was inhibitory neurons, we also identified a population of excitatory dynorphin-expressing cells in laminae I-II that are largely restricted to the medial part of the mid-lumbar dorsal horn, corresponding to glabrous skin territory. These findings are important for interpretation of studies using molecular-genetic techniques to manipulate the functions of interneuron populations to investigate their roles in somatosensory processing.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.08.044

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  • The Pdyn dorsal inhibitory family comprised Inhib-9, Inhib-10, and Inhib-11 and expressed markers suggestive of a role in chemical itch.

    “The Pdyn dorsal, inhibitory family was comprised of Inhib-9, Inhib-10, and Inhib-11 and expressed markers suggestive of a role in chemical itch52,61,73–77.”
  • The Npy dorsal inhibitory family comprised Inhib-12 and Inhib-13; studies suggest this family's markers identify neurons involved in mechanical itch and pain.

    “The Npy dorsal, the inhibitory family was comprised of Inhib-12 and Inhib-13. Studies suggest this family’s markers identify neurons involved in mechanical itch and pain73,78,79.”

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Authors
Boyle, K. A., Gutierrez-Mecinas, M., Polgár, E., Mooney, N., O'Connor, E., Furuta, T., Watanabe, M., & Todd, A. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Glasgow (GB)
  • Kyoto University (JP)
  • Hokkaido University (JP)
Corresponding author
Todd, Andrew J.
Venue
Neuroscience
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-11
Volume
363
Pages
120-133
ISSN
0306-4522 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2751185950
Cited by
92
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 11
FWCI
8.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust (102645)
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (N006119)
  • Medical Research Council (L003430)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
inhibitory interneurons, superficial dorsal horn, spinal cord, neuropeptide Y, galanin, neuronal nitric oxide synthase, parvalbumin, dynorphin, calretinin, somatosensory processing, pain, pruritus, mice
MeSH terms
Animals, Female, Interneurons, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Posterior Horn Cells, Mice, Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn

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