Institute of Pain Medicine and Special Environmental Medicine, Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Jiangsu 226019, China
Institute of Pain Medicine and Special Environmental Medicine, Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Jiangsu 226019, China.
J Neurosci. 2023 Feb 22;43(8):1334-1347. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1359-22.2023. Epub 2023 Jan 18.
Itch is an uncomfortable and complex sensation that elicits the desire to scratch. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) activity is important in driving sensation, motivation, and emotion. Excitatory afferents from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), amygdala, and hippocampus are crucial in tuning the activity of dopamine receptor D1-expressing and D2-expressing medium spiny neurons (Drd1-MSN and Drd2-MSN) in the NAc. However, a cell-type and neural circuity-based mechanism of the NAc underlying acute itch remains unclear. We found that acute itch induced by compound 48/80 (C48/80) decreased the intrinsic membrane excitability in Drd1-MSNs, but not in Drd2-MSNs, in the NAc core of male mice. Chemogenetic activation of Drd1-MSNs alleviated C48/80-induced scratching behaviors but not itch-related anxiety-like behaviors. In addition, C48/80 enhanced the frequency of spontaneous EPSCs (sEPSCs) and reduced the paired-pulse ratio (PPR) of electrical stimulation-evoked EPSCs in Drd1-MSNs. Furthermore, C48/80 increased excitatory synaptic afferents to Drd1-MSNs from the mPFC, not from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) or ventral hippocampus (vHipp). Consistently, the intrinsic excitability of mPFC-NAc projecting pyramidal neurons was increased after C48/80 treatment. Chemogenetic inhibition of mPFC-NAc excitatory synaptic afferents relieved the scratching behaviors. Moreover, pharmacological activation of κ opioid receptor (KOR) in the NAc core suppressed C48/80-induced scratching behaviors, and the modulation of KOR activity in the NAc resulted in the changes of presynaptic excitatory inputs to Drd1-MSNs in C48/80-treated mice. Together, these results reveal the neural plasticity in synapses of NAc Drd1-MSNs from the mPFC underlying acute itch and indicate the modulatory role of the KOR in itch-related scratching behaviors. Itch stimuli cause strongly scratching desire and anxiety in patients. However, the related neural mechanisms remain largely unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that the pruritogen compound 48/80 (C48/80) shapes the excitability of dopamine receptor D1-expressing medium spiny neurons (Drd1-MSNs) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core and the glutamatergic synaptic afferents from medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to these neurons. Chemogenetic activation of Drd1-MSNs or inhibition of mPFC-NAc excitatory synaptic afferents relieves the scratching behaviors. In addition, pharmacological activation of κ opioid receptor (KOR) in the NAc core alleviates C48/80-induced itch. Thus, targeting mPFC-NAc Drd1-MSNs or KOR may provide effective treatments for itch.
痒是一种不舒服且复杂的感觉,会引起搔抓的欲望。伏隔核(NAc)的活动对驱动感觉、动机和情绪很重要。来自内侧前额叶皮层(mPFC)、杏仁核和海马的兴奋性传入对于调节多巴胺受体 D1 表达和 D2 表达的中等多刺神经元(Drd1-MSN 和 Drd2-MSN)的 NAc 活动至关重要。然而,NAc 中急性瘙痒的细胞类型和神经回路基础机制仍不清楚。我们发现,由化合物 48/80(C48/80)引起的急性瘙痒会降低雄性小鼠 NAc 核中 Drd1-MSN 的内在膜兴奋性,但不会降低 Drd2-MSN 的内在膜兴奋性。NAc 核中 Drd1-MSN 的化学遗传激活减轻了 C48/80 诱导的搔抓行为,但没有减轻与瘙痒相关的焦虑样行为。此外,C48/80 增强了 Drd1-MSN 中自发性 EPSC(sEPSC)的频率,并降低了电刺激诱发 EPSC 的成对脉冲比(PPR)。此外,C48/80 增加了来自 mPFC 的兴奋性传入到 Drd1-MSN,而不是来自基底外侧杏仁核(BLA)或腹侧海马(vHipp)的兴奋性传入。一致地,C48/80 处理后 mPFC-NAc 投射锥体神经元的内在兴奋性增加。化学遗传抑制 mPFC-NAc 的兴奋性突触传入减轻了搔抓行为。此外,NAc 核中κ阿片受体(KOR)的药理学激活抑制了 C48/80 诱导的搔抓行为,而 NAc 中 KOR 活性的调节导致了 C48/80 处理的小鼠中 Drd1-MSN 上的突触前兴奋性输入的变化。总之,这些结果揭示了 NAc 中来自 mPFC 的 Drd1-MSN 突触的急性瘙痒的神经可塑性,并表明 KOR 在与瘙痒相关的搔抓行为中的调节作用。瘙痒刺激会导致患者强烈的搔抓欲望和焦虑。然而,相关的神经机制在很大程度上仍不清楚。在本研究中,我们证明了致痒原化合物 48/80(C48/80)塑造了伏隔核(NAc)核心中多巴胺受体 D1 表达的中型多刺神经元(Drd1-MSN)的兴奋性,以及来自内侧前额叶皮层(mPFC)的谷氨酸能突触传入到这些神经元。Drd1-MSN 的化学遗传激活或 mPFC-NAc 兴奋性突触传入的抑制可减轻搔抓行为。此外,NAc 核中κ阿片受体(KOR)的药理学激活可减轻 C48/80 引起的瘙痒。因此,靶向 mPFC-NAc 的 Drd1-MSN 或 KOR 可能为瘙痒提供有效的治疗方法。