Congratulations to Dr Junichi Hachisuka and Professors John Riddell and Andrew Todd on MRC grant award
Published: 3 March 2021
Dr Junichi Hachisuka tells us more about the project entitled: The roles of functionally defined populations of lamina I projection neurons
Neuropathic pain, which affects nearly 10% of the population, causes considerable suffering to the patient, and represents a substantial societal burden through time lost from work. There are few effective treatment options for neuropathic pain and this is largely due to our limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms. It is known that there is altered sensory processing in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, and that projection neurons in lamina I play a key role.
However, these cells are functionally heterogeneous, and this has made it difficult to define their contribution to different aspects of sensory processing. In this project, we aim to define the properties of different populations among the lamina I projection neurons, to identify the neuronal circuits they engage, and to explore their roles in neuropathic pain.
In a recent Nature paper, we identified two molecular markers for these projection neurons. Using molecular genetic strategies based on these findings, we will further characterise the physiological, anatomical and pharmacological properties of the different types of projection cell. We will also reveal their involvement in neuropathic pain by silencing them in vivo.
In addition, we will investigate another important function of the projection neurons – the detection of skin cooling.
The project should provide important new information about the spinal circuits that underlie somatosensation and neuropathic pain, which is essential for the development of new therapies.
Dr Junichi Hachisuka (PI), Prof. John Riddell (Co-I) and Prof. Andrew Todd (Co-I) who have just been awarded a 3 year MRC grant of £865k.
First published: 3 March 2021