Biology subjects

Bonin, R. P.

Publications and source records attributed to Bonin, R. P..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Spinal cord Ca2+ imaging reveals glial-driven central sensitization in post-traumatic osteoarthritis

Central sensitization may be defined behaviourally, cellularly, or molecularly; yet these can all vary depending on the model and duration. Current electrophysiological approaches are time and labour intensive. Here, we developed a Ca2+ imaging and analysis pipeline (CuMIN) that implements semi-automated detection and analysis of cellular Ca2+ activity in rodent spinal cord slices, from which distinct signatures were defined for various acute and chronic pain models. Spinal cord slices from male mice were isolated after inducing pathological pain in a variety of well-established surgical or pharmacological approaches, incubated in a cell-permeant Ca2+ indicator, and imaged with epifluorescence microscopy. Intensity and temporal features of spontaneous and glutamate-evoked Ca2+ events were processed by linear discriminant analysis to map unique clusters of activity for each pain model. The resulting activity map of spinal dorsal horn activity is substantially different in the surgical model of chronic pain induced by post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA), which lacks clear mechanistic evidence of central sensitization. Specifically, the PTOA Ca2+ activity signature overlapped with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy and neuropathic pain models, both of which are associated with gliosis-induced central sensitization. We confirmed gliosis in the PTOA model by immunostaining IBA1 and GFAP and observed analgesic effects of intrathecal carbenoxolone, Gap27, and minocycline that targeted glial activity. These findings validate CuMIN as a sensitive and specific approach for defining the basic cellular signatures of spinal central sensitization, with the utility of identifying potential therapeutic targets and serving as a translational platform for novel drug discovery across various acute and chronic pain models.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Metaplastic priming enables non-ionotropic NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic depotentiation in the hippocampus

The reversal of learning-induced synaptic potentiation through depotentiation is thought to underlie forgetting and can be influenced by prior synaptic activity. Here, we evaluated how such metaplastic alterations manifest at the synaptic level. In hippocampal slices obtained from male and female mice, we artificially induced long-term potentiation (LTP) using either a temporally spaced or compressed stimulation pattern. Using a combination of electrophysiology and protein quantification approaches, we found divergent molecular pathways recruited during depotentiation of spaced and compressed LTP. Depotentiation of both forms of LTP required glutamatergic activation of the NMDA receptor (NMDAR). However, only depotentiation of spaced LTP required ionotropic NMDAR signaling, while ion flux-independent, or non-ionotropic, NMDAR signaling was necessary and sufficient for depotentiation of compressed LTP. Downstream of NMDAR signaling, AMPA receptor phosphorylation was also differentially modified during depotentiation of spaced and compressed LTP. Finally, we found that spaced but not compressed depotentiation required synaptic Arc. Together, our results reveal that the temporal pattern of prior LTP induction exerts a metaplastic influence on the molecular pathways recruited during the induction and expression of depotentiation. Our findings have important implications for the regulation of both physiological and pathological forgetting. Significance statementSynaptic depotentiation, the reversal of learning-associated synaptic potentiation, is an important mechanism of forgetting. This study uncovers how prior synaptic activity modifies the molecular mechanisms underlying depotentiation in the hippocampus in a metaplastic manner. We reveal that the mechanisms of NMDA-receptor depotentiation depend on the temporal spacing of long-term potentiation (LTP) induction. Specifically, we show that non-ionotropic NMDA receptor signaling is necessary and sufficient for the depotentiation of LTP induced using temporally compressed but not spaced patterned activity. Further, depotentiation of spaced and compressed LTP are associated with distinct downstream signaling pathways and AMPA receptor phosphorylation states during depotentiation. Our results illuminate fundamental mechanisms that govern plasticity associated with forgetting, with implications for memory preservation in disease states.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Chronic pain mediated changes in the appetitive value of affective touch in mice

The existence of skin-to-brain circuits for rewarding gentle touch highlight its critical nature across species. However, this gentle affective touch is not always appetitive and can produce aversion or negative affect in disorders such as chronic pain. Sensory neurons expressing the protein MrgprB4 detect gentle stroking in mice and their activation of these neurons known to be positively reinforcing. Here we assess whether activation of channelrhodopsin (ChR2) expressing MrgprB4 afferents signal positively valenced tactile information and whether this is altered in models of chronic pain. We further interrogate how this this sensory information is reflected in the downstream circuits recruited. Optogenetic activation of MrgprB4 lineage afferents was found to be appetitive in control and capsaicin sensitized mice but not nerve injured mice, indicating that the appetitive value is diminished in neuropathic pain. Remarkably, this appetitive value was partially recovered in male nerve injured mice by treatment with the analgesic gabapentin. These behavioral changes were also accompanied by different patterns of neuronal activity throughout the brain, including altered activation of sites that receive direct projections from the spinal cord between sham and nerve injured mice. Together, these findings highlight the plastic nature of these affective tactile circuits under pathological conditions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Spinal reconsolidation engages non-ionotropic NMDA receptor signaling to reverse pain hypersensitivity

Reconsolidation enables the activity-dependent modification of memory traces and has been used to reverse addiction, fear memory, and pain hypersensitivity in animal models. We demonstrate that non-ionotropic NMDA receptor signalling in the spinal dorsal horn is sufficient to reverse pain hypersensitivity and necessary for pain modulation by spinal reconsolidation. These findings reveal a key process by which reconsolidation disrupts memory traces that may be exploited in the treatment of pain and other disorders.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Connexin-36-expressing Gap Junctions in VTA GABA Neurons Sustain Opiate Dependence

Drug dependence is characterized by a switch in motivation wherein a positively reinforcing substance becomes negatively reinforcing. Ventral tegmental area (VTA) GABA neurons form a point of divergence between two double dissociable pathways responsible for these respective motivational states. Here we show that this switch from drug-naive to opiate-dependent and withdrawn (ODW) motivation is contingent upon the gap junction-forming protein, connexin-36 (Cx36), in VTA GABA neurons. Intra-VTA infusions of the Cx36 blocker, mefloquine, in ODW rats resulted in a reversion to a drug-naive motivational state and a loss of opiate withdrawal aversions. Consistent with these data, conditional knockout mice lacking Cx36 in GABA neurons (GAD65-Cre;Cx36fl(CFP)/fl(CFP)) were perpetually drug-naive and never experienced opiate withdrawal aversions. Further, viral-mediated rescue of Cx36 in VTA GABA neurons was sufficient to restore their susceptibility to ODW motivation. Our findings reveal a functional role for VTA gap junctions that has eluded prevailing circuit models of addiction. SignificanceThe motivation to seek drugs can vary depending on prior exposure. For instance, recreational and habitual drug use can stem from a desire to experience the pleasurable or relieving properties of the substance, respectively. Here we identify a subpopulation of midbrain neurons that dictate opiate-seeking motivation via expression of the gap junction protein, connexin-36. We show that connexin-36 expression increases upon opiate dependence and withdrawal. We then demonstrate that this is not merely a correlation, as pharmacological or genetic manipulations that interfere with connexin-36 function prevent the development of opiate dependence in rats and mice. Our results identify gap junctions as a critical node in the pathogenesis of opiate addiction, and a potential new target for substance use disorder pharmacotherapies.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Differential modulation of thermal preference after sensitization by optogenetic or pharmacological activation of heat-sensitive nociceptors

Common approaches to studying chronic pain in pre-clinical animal models paradoxically involve measuring reflexive withdrawal responses that are more indicative of acute nociceptive pain. These methods typically do not capture the ongoing nature of chronic pain nor report on behavioral changes associated with pain. In addition, data collection and analysis protocols are often labour-intensive and require direct investigator interactions, potentially introducing bias. In this study, we develop and characterize a low-cost, easily assembled behavioral assay that yields self-reported temperature preference from mice which is sensitive to peripheral sensitization protocols. This system uses a partially automated and freely available analysis pipeline to streamline the data collection process and enable objective analysis. We found that after intraplantar administration of the TrpV1 agonist, capsaicin, mice preferred to stay in cooler temperatures than control injected mice. We further observed that gabapentin, a non-opioid analgesic commonly prescribed to treat chronic pain, reversed this aversion to higher temperatures. We further observed that optogenetic activation of the central terminals of TrpV1+ primary afferents via in vivo spinal light delivery did not induce a similar change in thermal preference, indicating a role for peripheral nociceptor activity in the modulation of temperature preference. We conclude that this easily produced and robust sensory assay provides an alternative approach to investigate the contribution of central and peripheral mechanisms to pathological sensory processing that does not rely on reflexive responses evoked by noxious stimuli.

neuroscience↗