title: Gate control of mechanical itch by a subpopulation of spinal cord interneurons.
abstract: Light mechanical stimulation of hairy skin can induce a form of itch known as mechanical itch. This itch sensation is normally suppressed by inputs from mechanoreceptors; however, in many forms of chronic itch, including alloknesis, this gating mechanism is lost. Here we demonstrate that a population of spinal inhibitory interneurons that are defined by the expression of neuropeptide Y::Cre (NPY::Cre) act to gate mechanical itch. Mice in which dorsal NPY::Cre-derived neurons are selectively ablated or silenced develop mechanical itch without an increase in sensitivity to chemical itch or pain. This chronic itch state is histamine-independent and is transmitted independently of neurons that express the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor. Thus, our studies reveal a dedicated spinal cord inhibitory pathway that gates the transmission of mechanical itch.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Steeve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bourane
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 1 Jimmy Fund Way, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dalet
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Britz
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garcia-Campmany
authors.affiliation: Neurobiology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Euiseok
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 1 Jimmy Fund Way, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Institute of Brain Science and State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Longzhen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Neurobiology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Anirvan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 1 Jimmy Fund Way, Boston, MA 02115, USA. goulding@salk.edu qiufu_ma@dfci.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Qiufu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. goulding@salk.edu qiufu_ma@dfci.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Martyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goulding
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D006197:Hair / Q000502:physiology; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology*; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D011537:Pruritus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission
chemical_list: D009478:Neuropeptide Y