Collateral projections from the lateral parabrachial nucleus to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the central amygdala in mice

IF 2.5 4区医学 Q3 NEUROSCIENCES

Neuroscience Letters Pub Date : 2025-03-18 DOI:10.1016/j.neulet.2025.138204

Li Zhang , Shuai Zhou , Yuen Fen Tan , Quan Fu Gan , Teoh Hoon Koon , Zhiqiang Wang , Shiqing Zhao , Yixuan Chen , Yi Sun , Pooi Pooi Leong

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBn) serves a critical hub for processing and transmitting pain signals. It has two main efferent pathways, the LPBn-CeA and LPBn-BNST, which are crucial for pain regulation and the management of negative emotions.

Methods

In our study, we investigated the projections from the LPBn by performing stereotaxic injections of AAV2/2Retro-hSyn-EGFP (abbreviated as EGFP) into the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and AAV2/2Retro-hSyn-tdTomato (abbreviated as tdTomato) into the central amygdala (CeA) in mice. The animals subsequently underwent spared nerve injury (SNI) surgery on the contralateral side to the AAV injections. To examine the expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and c-Fos, we conducted immunofluorescent histochemistry.

Results

Our results indicated that approximately 26 % of the LPBn neurons retrogradely labeled with either EGFP or tdTomato were dual-labeled with both markers. Moreover, a significant majority (85.49 %) of these double-labeled neurons were CGRP positive (CGRP⁺). In mice subjected to SNI, nearly all of these neurons (93.25 %) were c-Fos positive (c-Fos⁺), indicating that they were activated.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that a subset of CGRP⁺ neurons in the LPBn projects to both the BNST and CeA via axon collaterals. Notably, under SNI conditions, these neurons may play a critical role in the transmission of chronic pain.

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来源期刊

Neuroscience Letters 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

5.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

408

审稿时长

50 days

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