Scanned optogenetic control of mammalian somatosensory input to map input-specific behavioral outputs.

Somatosensory stimuli guide and shape behavior, from immediate protective reflexes to longer-term learning and higher-order processes related to pain and touch. However, somatosensory inputs are challenging to control in awake mammals due to the diversity and nature of contact stimuli. Application of cutaneous stimuli is currently limited to relatively imprecise methods as well as subjective behavioral measures. The strategy we present here overcomes these difficulties, achieving 'remote touch' with spatiotemporally precise and dynamic optogenetic stimulation by projecting light to a small defined area of skin. We mapped behavioral responses in freely behaving mice with specific nociceptor and low-threshold mechanoreceptor inputs. In nociceptors, sparse recruitment of single-action potentials shapes rapid protective pain-related behaviors, including coordinated head orientation and body repositioning that depend on the initial body pose. In contrast, activation of low-threshold mechanoreceptors elicited slow-onset behaviors and more subtle whole-body behaviors. The strategy can be used to define specific behavioral repertoires, examine the timing and nature of reflexes, and dissect sensory, motor, cognitive, and motivational processes guiding behavior.

To safely navigate their world, animals need to be able to tell apart a gentle touch from an eye-watering pinch, detect cold water or sense the throbbing pain stemming from an infected cut. These 'somatic' sensations are relayed through thousands of nerve endings embedded in the skin and other tissues. Yet the neurological mechanisms that underpin these abilities are complex and still poorly understood. Indeed, these nerve endings can be stimulated by extreme temperatures, harmful chemicals, friction or even internal signals such as inflammation. One event can also recruit many different types of endings: a cut for example, will involve responses to mechanical pressure, tissue damage and local immune response. To disentangle these different actors and how they affect behavior, scientists need to develop approaches that allow them to deliver specific stimuli with increased precision, and to monitor the impact on an animal. To achieve this goal, Schorscher-Petcu et al. used mice in which blue light could trigger specific types of nerve endings. For instance, depending on the genetic background of the animals, a laser could either activate nerve endings involved in pain or gentle touch. Crucially, this could be done from a distance by beaming light with exquisite precision onto the paws of the mice without physically touching or disturbing the animals. How the mice responded could then be observed without any interference. Their behavior was analyzed using a combination of high-speed videos, computer-driven recording systems, and machine learning. This revealed subtle changes in behavior that had not been detected before, spotting microscopic movements of the stimulated paw and mapping simultaneous whole-body movements such as changes in posture or head orientation. The approach therefore allows scientists to assess the impact of touch, pain or temperature sensation in freely behaving mice. It could also be harnessed to develop much needed treatments against chronic pain.

A role for PACE4 in osteoarthritis pain: evidence from human genetic association and null mutant phenotype.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess if genetic variation in the PACE4 (paired amino acid converting enzyme 4) gene Pcsk6 influences the risk for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Ten PCSK6 single nucleotide polymorphisms were tested for association in a discovery cohort of radiographic knee OA (n=156 asymptomatic and 600 symptomatic cases). Meta-analysis of the minor allele at rs900414 was performed in three additional independent cohorts (total n=674 asymptomatic and 2068 symptomatic). Pcsk6 knockout mice and wild-type C57BL/6 mice were compared in a battery of algesiometric assays, including hypersensitivity in response to intraplantar substance P, pain behaviours in response to intrathecal substance P and pain behaviour in the abdominal constriction test. RESULTS: In the discovery cohort of radiographic knee OA, an intronic single nucleotide polymorphism at rs900414 was significantly associated with symptomatic OA. Replication in three additional cohorts confirmed that the minor allele at rs900414 was consistently increased among asymptomatic compared to symptomatic radiographic knee OA cases in all four cohorts. A fixed-effects meta-analysis yielded an OR=1.35 (95% CI 1.17 to 1.56; p=4.3×10(-5) and no significant between-study heterogeneity). Studies in mice revealed that Pcsk6 knockout mice were significantly protected against pain in a battery of algesiometric assays. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a variant in PCSK6 is strongly associated with protection against pain in knee OA, offering some insight as to why, in the presence of the same structural damage, some individuals develop chronic pain and others are protected. Studies in Pcsk6 null mutant mice further implicate PACE4 in pain.

Pain sensitivity and vasopressin analgesia are mediated by a gene-sex-environment interaction.

Quantitative trait locus mapping of chemical/inflammatory pain in the mouse identified the Avpr1a gene, which encodes the vasopressin-1A receptor (V1AR), as being responsible for strain-dependent pain sensitivity to formalin and capsaicin. A genetic association study in humans revealed the influence of a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs10877969) in AVPR1A on capsaicin pain levels, but only in male subjects reporting stress at the time of testing. The analgesic efficacy of the vasopressin analog desmopressin revealed a similar interaction between the drug and acute stress, as desmopressin inhibition of capsaicin pain was only observed in nonstressed subjects. Additional experiments in mice confirmed the male-specific interaction of V1AR and stress, leading to the conclusion that vasopressin activates endogenous analgesia mechanisms unless they have already been activated by stress. These findings represent, to the best of our knowledge, the first explicit demonstration of analgesic efficacy depending on the emotional state of the recipient, and illustrate the heuristic power of a bench-to-bedside-to-bench translational strategy.

Distribution and identity of neurons expressing the oxytocin receptor in the mouse spinal cord.

Oxytocin can influence various spinal functions. However, little is known about the spinal neuronal networks responsible for oxytocin effects. The aim of this study was to localize and characterize spinal neurons expressing oxytocin receptors. We used an oxytocin receptor-reporter mouse in which the fluorescent protein Venus is expressed under the control of the oxytocin receptor gene promoter. At all segmental levels, Venus-expressing neurons were most numerous in the substantia gelatinosa, mingled with protein kinase Cγ interneurons in the innermost layer of the inner lamina II, which, in contrast to the outer two thirds of this layer, does not receive nociceptive input. Venus-expressing neurons were also observed in the intermediolateral and sacral parasympathetic nuclei, where they represented about 5% of presumed preganglionic neurons identified by choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity. Finally, Venus immunoreactivity was detected in lumbar and sacral dorsal gray commissures as well as in isolated neurons scattered in different regions of the dorsal horn. Altogether, our results establish the location of neurons putatively involved in oxytocin modulation of spinal functions, in particular of sexual functioning and nociception.

Hypolocomotion, asymmetrically directed behaviors (licking, lifting, flinching, and shaking) and dynamic weight bearing (gait) changes are not measures of neuropathic pain in mice.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous (non-evoked) pain is a major clinical symptom of neuropathic syndromes, one that is understudied in basic pain research for practical reasons and because of a lack of consensus over precisely which behaviors reflect spontaneous pain in laboratory animals. It is commonly asserted that rodents experiencing pain in a hind limb exhibit hypolocomotion and decreased rearing, engage in both reflexive and organized limb directed behaviors, and avoid supporting their body weight on the affected side. Furthermore, it is assumed that the extent of these positive or negative behaviors can be used as a dependent measure of spontaneous chronic pain severity in such animals. In the present study, we tested these assumptions via blinded, systematic observation of digital video of mice with nerve injuries (chronic constriction or spared nerve injury), and automated assessment of locomotor behavior using photocell detection and dynamic weight bearing (i.e., gait) using the CatWalk system. RESULTS: We found no deficits in locomotor activity or rearing associated with neuropathic injury. The frequency of asymmetric (ipsilaterally directed) behaviors were too rare to be seriously considered as representing spontaneous pain, and in any case did not statistically exceed what was blindly observed on the contralateral hind paw and in control (sham operated and unoperated) mice. Changes in dynamic weight bearing, on the other hand, were robust and ipsilateral after spared nerve injury (but not chronic constriction injury). However, we observed timing, pharmacological, and genetic dissociation of mechanical allodynia and gait alterations. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that spontaneous neuropathic pain in mice cannot be assessed using any of these measures, and thus caution is warranted in making such assertions.

Oxytocin-induced analgesia and scratching are mediated by the vasopressin-1A receptor in the mouse.

The neuropeptides oxytocin (OXT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) contribute to the regulation of diverse cognitive and physiological functions including nociception. Indeed, OXT has been reported to be analgesic when administered directly into the brain, the spinal cord, or systemically. Here, we characterized the phenotype of oxytocin receptor (OTR) and vasopressin-1A receptor (V1AR) null mutant mice in a battery of pain assays. Surprisingly, OTR knock-out mice displayed a pain phenotype identical to their wild-type littermates. Moreover, systemic administration of OXT dose-dependently produced analgesia in both wild-type and OTR knock-out mice in three different assays, the radiant-heat paw withdrawal test, the von Frey test of mechanical sensitivity, and the formalin test of inflammatory nociception. In contrast, OXT-induced analgesia was completely absent in V1AR knock-out mice. In wild-type mice, OXT-induced analgesia could be fully prevented by pretreatment with a V1AR but not an OTR antagonist. Receptor binding studies demonstrated that the distribution of OXT and AVP binding sites in mouse lumbar spinal cord resembles the pattern observed in rat. AVP binding sites diffusely label the lumbar spinal cord, whereas OXT binding sites cluster in the substantia gelatinosa of the dorsal horn. In contrast, quantitative real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR revealed that V1AR but not OTR mRNA is abundantly expressed in mouse dorsal root ganglia, where it localizes to small- and medium-diameter cells as shown by single-cell RT-PCR. Hence, V1ARs expressed in dorsal root ganglia might represent a previously unrecognized target for the analgesic action of OXT and AVP.

Distribution of vasopressin and oxytocin binding sites in the brain and upper spinal cord of the common marmoset.

The aim of this study was to label selectively and to map central vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) binding sites in the common marmoset. [(125)I]VPA, a compound selective in rodents and human for the AVP V(1a) receptor, yielded the same labeling pattern as [(3)H]AVP, thus suggesting that most AVP receptors present in the marmoset brain are of the V(1a) subtype. Numerous areas exhibited AVP binding sites, among which the olfactory bulb, the accumbens nucleus, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic, arcuate and ventromedial nuclei, the medial amygdaloid nucleus, the nucleus of the solitary tract and the cerebral cortex. Binding sites for [(125)I]OTA, a selective OT receptor antagonist in rat and human, were markedly less abundant than [(125)I]VPA ones, and, to a few exceptions, expressed in different areas. Neither AVP, nor OT binding sites were detected in the hypothalamic paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei identified by neurophysin immunoreactivity. Marked species-related differences were observed in the distribution of both AVP and OT binding sites. Altogether, our data provide a morphological basis to investigate the function of central AVP and OT in the marmoset.

The beta3 subunit of the Na+,K+-ATPase mediates variable nociceptive sensitivity in the formalin test.

It is widely appreciated that there is significant inter-individual variability in pain sensitivity, yet only a handful of contributing genetic variants have been identified. Computational genetic mapping and quantitative trait locus analysis suggested that variation within the gene coding for the beta3 subunit of the Na+,K+-ATPase pump (Atp1b3) contributes to inter-strain differences in the early phase formalin pain behavior. Significant strain differences in Atp1b3 gene expression, beta3 protein expression, and biophysical properties of the Na+,K+ pump in dorsal root ganglia neurons from resistant (A/J) and sensitive (C57BL/6J) mouse strains supported the genetic prediction. Furthermore, in vivo siRNA knockdown of the beta3 subunit produced strain-specific changes in the early phase pain response, completely rescuing the strain difference. These findings indicate that the beta3 subunit of the Na+,K+-ATPase is a novel determinant of nociceptive sensitivity and further supports the notion that pain variability genes can have very selective effects on individual pain modalities.

Role of central calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in locomotor and anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in two mouse strains exhibiting a CGRP-dependent difference in thermal pain sensitivity.

We have previously shown that, in AKR and C57BL/6 mice, a genetic polymorphism results in differential expression of the peptide, calcitonin gene-related polypeptide (CGRP), explaining a strain difference in thermal pain sensitivity. Although CGRP is widely distributed in the brain, little is known about the effects of supraspinal CGRP. We used AKR and C57BL/6 mice as a model to explore the effects of centrally (intracerebroventricular) injected CGRP and the CGRP receptor antagonists, CGRP(8-37) and BIBN4096BS, in a series of behavioral assays. Locomotor activity was significantly increased in C57BL/6 mice following the injection of BIBN4096BS and in both strains after the administration of CGRP(8-37) into the third ventricle. CGRP increased paw-withdrawal latencies in C57BL/6 mice only, while decreasing depression-like behaviors in both strains in the forced-swimming test. CGRP and CGRP receptor antagonists failed to modulate activity in the elevated plus maze, a model of anxiety. Taken together, these results suggest a complex role for supraspinal CGRP systems in the regulation of locomotion, nociception, and depression-like behaviors.