Journal: Pain
Article Title: Activation of GABAergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus alleviates hyperalgesia induced by ovarian hormone withdrawal
doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003362
Figure Lengend Snippet: Decreased activity of DRN GABA neurons was involved in the hyperalgesia induced by ovarian hormone withdrawal. (A) Schematic representation of the ovariectomy surgery. (B) Quantification of the mechanical pain threshold in response to Von Frey stimulation in Sham (n = 8) and OVX (n = 10) mice. 1W, 2W, 3W, 4W: 1, 2, 3, 4 weeks after surgery. ** P < 0.01 and *** P < 0.001, by 2-way ANOVA followed by Sidak multiple comparisons test. (C and D) Quantification of the withdrawal latency in response to thermal stimulation (C) and scores in response to acetone stimulation (D) in Sham (n = 11) and OVX (n = 12) mice. Ns: no significance, by unpaired t test. (E and F) Representative images (E) and bar graph (F) showing c-fos cells in the DRN of Sham (n = 6 mice) and OVX (n = 6 mice) mice. Scale bar: 100 μm. ** P < 0.01, by unpaired t test. (G and H) Representative images (G) and bar graph (H) showing c-fos and Vgat -colabeled cells (arrowheads) in the DRN of Sham (n = 6 mice) and OVX (n = 6 mice) mice. Scale bars: 100 μm and 50 μm. ** P < 0.01, unpaired t test. (I) Representative image of GCaMP6f virus injection and fiber implantation in the DRN (upper) and schematic of fiber photometry recording of Ca 2+ activity in DRN GABA neurons in response to noxious stimulation (lower). Scale bar: 500 μm. (J–L) Heatmap of individual trials (J), averaged GCaMP6f responses (K), and quantification of the area under the curve (AUC) (L) of GCaMP6f signal in response to pinprick from DRN GABA neurons in Sham (6 mice) and OVX (6 mice) mice. * P < 0.05, by unpaired t test. (M–O) Heatmap of individual trials (M), averaged GCaMP6f responses (N), and quantification of the AUC (O) of GCaMP6f signal in response to electric shock from DRN GABA neurons in Sham (6 mice) and OVX (6 mice) mice. * P < 0.05, by Mann–Whitney test. All data are presented as mean ± SEM. DRN, dorsal raphe nucleus; OVX, ovariectomized.
Article Snippet: In situ hybridization was performed according to the manufacturer's instructions from the RNAscope multiplex fluorescent manual assay kit (323100, Advanced Cell Diagnostics, ACD, CA) with the custom-designed probe for Vgat (319191, Mm-Slc32a1-C2, ACD), ERα (478201-C3, Esr1-C3 , ACD), and ERβ (316121-C4, Esr2-C3, ACD).
Techniques: Activity Assay, Virus, Injection, MANN-WHITNEY