Bmc Neurosci
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Comparative Study
Altered sensory-weighting mechanisms is observed in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.
Scoliosis is the most common type of spinal deformity. In North American children, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) makes up about 90% of all cases of scoliosis. While its prevalence is about 2% to 3% in children aged between 10 to 16 years, girls are more at risk than boys for severe progression with a ratio of 3.6 to 1. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that idiopathic scoliosis interferes with the mechanisms responsible for sensory-reweighting during balance control. ⋯ Altogether, the present results demonstrate that idiopathic scoliosis adolescents have difficulty in reweighting sensory inputs following a brief period of sensory deprivation.
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NF-kappaB binds to the kappaB motif to regulate transcription of genes involved in growth, immunity and inflammation, and plays a pivotal role in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines after nerve injuries. The zinc finger protein ZAS3 also binds to the kappaB or similar motif. In addition to competition for common DNA sites, in vitro experiments have shown that ZAS3 can inhibit NF-kappaB via the association with TRAF2 to inhibit the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB. However, the physiological significance of the ZAS3-mediated inhibition of NF-kappaB has not been demonstrated. The purpose of this study is to characterize ZAS3 proteins in nervous tissues and to use spinal nerve ligation, a neuropathic pain model, to demonstrate a functional relationship between ZAS3 and NF-kappaB. ⋯ ZAS3 is expressed in nervous tissues involved in cognitive function and pain modulation. The down-regulation of ZAS3 after peripheral nerve injury may lead to activation of NF-kappaB, allowing Wallerian regeneration and induction of NF-kappaB-dependent gene expression, including pro-inflammatory cytokines. We propose that reciprocal changes in the expression of ZAS3 and NF-kappaB might generate neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury.
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Somatosensation of the mammalian head is mainly mediated by the trigeminal nerve that provides innervation of diverse tissues like the face skin, the conjunctiva of the eyes, blood vessels and the mucouse membranes of the oral and nasal cavities. Trigeminal perception encompasses thermosensation, touch, and pain. Trigeminal chemosensation from the nasal epithelia mainly evokes stinging, burning, or pungent sensations. In vitro characterization of trigeminal primary sensory neurons derives largely from analysis of complete neuronal populations prepared from sensory ganglia. Thus, functional properties of primary trigeminal afferents depending on the area of innervation remain largely unclear. ⋯ In conclusion, the usability of PrV mediated tracing of primary afferents was demonstrated. Using this technique it could be shown that compared with neurons innervating the skin nasal trigeminal neurons reveal pronounced chemosensitivity for TRPM8 and TRPV1 channel agonists and only partially meet properties typical for nociceptors. In contrast to P2X3 receptors, TRPM8 and TRPV1 receptors seem to be of pronounced physiological relevance for intranasal trigeminal sensation.