Dermal macrophages control tactile perception under physiological conditions via NGF signaling.

We demonstrated previously that sorting nexin 25 (SNX25) in nerve-associated macrophages plays critical roles in pain sensation by regulating tissue NGF content under both physiological and neuropathic conditions. In the present study, we apply the SNX25-NGF paradigm to tactile perception by showing that Snx25 mice or macrophage-specific Snx25 conditional knock-out (mcKO) mice had weaker responses to tactile stimuli in normal conditions. Snx25 mcKO mice responded poorly to transcutaneous electrical stimuli at a frequency of 5 Hz (C fiber responses), but normally to stimuli at a frequency of 250 Hz (Aδ fiber responses) or of 2000 Hz (Aβ fiber responses).

Dermal macrophages set pain sensitivity by modulating the amount of tissue NGF through an SNX25-Nrf2 pathway.

Cross-talk between peripheral neurons and immune cells is important in pain sensation. We identified Snx25 as a pain-modulating gene in a transgenic mouse line with reduced pain sensitivity. Conditional deletion of Snx25 in monocytes and macrophages, but not in peripheral sensory neurons, in mice (Snx25 mice) reduced pain responses in both normal and neuropathic conditions.

Amino acid transporter Asc-1 (SLC7A10) expression is altered in basal ganglia in experimental Parkinsonism and L-dopa-induced dyskinesia model mice.

In Parkinson's disease (PD), a decrease in dopamine levels in the striatum causes abnormal circuit activity in the basal ganglia, resulting in increased output via the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr). A characteristic feature of glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the basal ganglia circuitry under conditions of dopamine depletion is enhanced synaptic activity of NMDA receptors. However, the cause of this NMDA receptor hyperactivity is not fully understood.

Juvenile social isolation affects the structure of the tanycyte-vascular interface in the hypophyseal portal system of the adult mice.

Accumulating evidence indicates that social stress in the juvenile period affects hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in adulthood. The biological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. We aimed to elucidate them by comparing adult mice that had experienced social isolation from postnatal day 21-35 (juvenile social isolation (JSI) group) with those reared normally (control group).