Biology subjects

Jayaraj, N. D.

Publications and source records attributed to Jayaraj, N. D..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Targeting GPR183 to reduce peripheral sensitization: evidence from rodent and human tissue analyses

Peripheral sensitization is a key process in the development of painful inflammatory conditions, driven in part by immune-cell mediator release following tissue injury. The G protein-coupled receptor, GPR183, predominantly expressed on immune cells, regulates their migration, positioning, and mediator production. Yet its role in peripheral sensitization and the specific immune cells involved remains insufficiently understood. In rats, intraplantar injection of 7,25-dihydroxycholesterol (7,25-OHC), the most potent endogenous GPR183 ligand, produced long-lasting nociception that was prevented by the selective GPR183 antagonist SAE-14. Because GPR183 activates ERK signaling, which influences pain pathways including nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and NO formation, we used NOS inhibitors and knockout animals to test the contribution of inducible and neuronal NOS isoforms to 7,25-OHC-induced sensitization. We found that both isoforms influence this response, independent of cyclooxygenases. In a well-characterized rat incisional injury model, GPR183 protein expression increased in injured paw tissue, and SAE-14 reversed hypersensitivity. Meta-analysis of human post-surgical skin samples similarly showed elevated GPR183 expression and transcriptional changes favoring 7,25-OHC production after injury. We identified macrophages and Langerhans cells (LCs) as the principal GPR183-expressing cell types in human skin. LC ablation studies revealed that 7,25-OHC-evoked hypersensitivity does not depend on LCs, implicating GPR183+ macrophages as predominant drivers of GPR3-induced hypersensitivity. Overall, our findings define the cellular and molecular pathways linking GPR183 to peripheral sensitization and highlight GPR183 antagonism as a promising strategy for pain management.

pharmacology and toxicology↗

bioRxiv2024

Keratinocyte-derived exosomes in painful diabetic neuropathy

Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) is a challenging complication of diabetes with patients experiencing a painful and burning sensation in their extremities. Existing treatments provide limited relief without addressing the underlying mechanisms of the disease. PDN involves the gradual degeneration of nerve fibers in the skin. Keratinocytes, the most abundant epidermal cell type, are closely positioned to cutaneous nerve terminals, suggesting the possibility of bi-directional communication. Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles released from many cell types that mediate cell to cell communication. The role of keratinocyte-derived exosomes (KDEs) in influencing signaling between the skin and cutaneous nerve terminals and their contribution to the genesis of PDN has not been explored. In this study, we characterized KDEs in a well-established high-fat diet (HFD) mouse model of PDN using primary adult mouse keratinocyte cultures. We obtained highly enriched KDEs through size exclusion chromatography and then analyzed their molecular cargo using proteomic analysis and small RNA sequencing. We found significant differences in the protein and microRNA content of HFD KDEs compared to KDEs obtained from control mice on a regular diet (RD), including pathways involved in axon guidance and synaptic transmission. Additionally, using an in vivo conditional extracellular vesicle (EV) reporter mouse model, we demonstrated that epidermal-originating GFP-tagged KDEs are retrogradely trafficked into the DRG neuron cell body. Overall, our study presents a potential novel mode of communication between keratinocytes and DRG neurons in the skin, revealing a possible role for KDEs in contributing to the axonal degeneration that underlies neuropathic pain in PDN. Moreover, this study presents potential therapeutic targets in the skin for developing more effective, disease-modifying, and better-tolerated topical interventions for patients suffering from PDN, one of the most common and untreatable peripheral neuropathies.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

A subpopulation of peripheral sensory neurons expressing the Mas-related G Protein-Coupled Receptor d (Mrgprd) generates pain hypersensitivity in painful diabetic neuropathy.

Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) is one of the most common and intractable complications of diabetes. PDN is characterized by neuropathic pain accompanied by dorsal root ganglion (DRG) nociceptor hyperexcitability, axonal degeneration, and loss of cutaneous innervation. However, the complete molecular profile underlying the hyper-excitable cellular phenotype of DRG nociceptors in PDN has not been elucidated. This gap in our knowledge is a critical barrier to developing effective, mechanism-based, and disease-modifying therapeutic approaches which are urgently needed to relieve the symptoms of PDN. Using single-cell RNA sequencing we demonstrated an increased expression of the Mas-related G Protein-Coupled Receptor d (Mrgprd) in a subpopulation of DRG neurons in the well-established High-Fat Diet (HFD) mouse model of PDN. In vivo calcium imaging allowed us to demonstrate that activation of Mrgprd receptors expressed by cutaneous afferents produced DRG neuron hyper-excitability and oscillatory calcium waves. Furthermore, Mrgprd-positive cutaneous afferents persist in diabetic mice skin. Importantly, limiting Mrgprd signaling or Mrgprd-positive DRG neuron excitability, reversed mechanical allodynia in the HFD mouse model of PDN. Taken together, our data highlights a key role of Mrgprd-mediated DRG neuron excitability in the generation and maintenance of neuropathic pain in a mouse model of PDN. Hence, we propose Mrgprd as a promising accessible target for developing effective therapeutics currently unavailable for treating neuropathic pain in PDN. Furthermore, understanding which DRG neurons cell type is mediating mechanical allodynia in PDN is of fundamental importance to our basic understanding of somatosensation and may provide an important way forward for identifying cell-type-specific therapeutics to optimize neuropathic pain treatment and nerve regeneration in PDN.

neuroscience↗