Nat Biotechnol: The relationship between sensory neuron activation and the immune system.

September 23, 2020 /--- In a recent study, scientists at Harvard Medical School/Boston Children's Hospital developed an implantable technique that can detect the interaction between sensory neurons and immune cells.
is a protective mechanism that alerts us to danger by creating unpleasant sensations.
this warning is transmitted to the spinal cord by specialized sensory neurons, which are interwoven with other sensory and motor neurons in the surrounding nerves.
if the injury cannot be avoided, inflammation can occur, accompanied by redness, swelling and pain.
"It has long been thought that pain and inflammation are different processes that occur independently.
whether the sensational fibers that trigger pain can induce inflammation have never been proven before.
, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of London, said that if such neuroimmune interactions exist, they could have an impact on future treatments for inflammation.
study was published recently in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
(Photo Source: www.pixabay.com) Photogenetics is a technique used to regulate neurons of genetic selection by shining light into nerve tissue.
that although photogenetics has revolutionized neuroscience focused on the brain, applying it to neurons in surrounding nerves is still difficult.
researchers have developed a soft implant that wraps the seism nerve and emits blue light on demand.
" In compliance implants, we integrate multiple light-emitting diodes.
advantage is that we can control lighting by electricity, " explains Stéphanie Lacour, a professor at the School of Engineering Science and Technology.
the implant is attached to an electronic system attached to the top of the mouse's head via a cortonic cable.
" researchers have developed a microchip for controlling implanted diodes that are energy efficient and integrated into wireless communication interfaces.
system, we can precisely control when and how implants are activated, " the scientists explained.
controlled tests confirmed that photoelectrectroid implants do not interfere with animal behavior in any way and do not cause side effects.
Surprised the team, repeated optical stimulation of specific sensory neurons in the nerve produced a slight redness on the animal's back paws, a clear sign of inflammation, as further confirmed by quantitative analysis of immune cells present in skin samples.
our study provides the answer to a long-standing question about whether pain-producing neurons also produce immune-mediated inflammation.
," concludes Clifford Woolf.
The tiny implantable neural technology paves the way for many other studies, which will allow researchers to decrypt and decrypt the peripheral and central nervous circuits, and may define future treatments for syndromes such as chronic pain or persistent inflammation.
(bioon.com) Source: A link between sensory neurons activation and the original source of the system: Epineural optogenetic activator of nociceptors and amplifies, Nature Biotechnology (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-020-0673-2 ,