Molecular and Genetic Studies of Pain and Itch
- ISBN-10
- 0355142813
- ISBN-13
- 9780355142815
- Pages
- 116
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2017
- Author
- Todd Michael Dembo
Description
Chronic pain and itch pose ever present, steadily growing burdens to human health. Still, we have limited understanding of the mechanisms that underlie their development and persistence. Furthermore, treatments for these conditions tend to be palliative, rather than curative, leading to mixed patient outcomes. With this in mind, we used next generation sequencing to assemble a transcriptional profile of the molecular changes in skin and sensory neurons that associate with a unique, stochastic mouse model of atopic dermatitis. This model combines the genetic sensitization of a PAR2 overexpression animal with environmental challenge by house dust mite allergens. To our knowledge, this is the first profiling effort that broadened its focus beyond the skin to look at the important, itch-facilitating contribution of sensory neurons. An interesting feature of this PAR2 model is that, by virtue of its stochasticity, it may allow for the independent identification of both protective and deleterious changes. These datasets will serve as useful resources for clinicians and researchers interested in the pathogenesis and prevention of atopic dermatitis.
