Activation of VIP Interneurons in the Prefrontal Cortex Ameliorates Neuropathic Pain Aversiveness

Overview

Journal Cell Rep

Publisher Cell Press

Specialties Biology
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2022 Sep 14

PMID 36103825

Authors

Miao Li

Hang Zhou

Sasa Teng

Guang Yang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

While dysfunction of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been implicated in chronic pain, the underlying neural circuits and the contribution of specific cellular populations remain unclear. Using in vivo Ca imaging, we report that in both male and female mice, peripheral nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain causes a marked reduction of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-expressing interneuron activity in the prelimbic area of the mPFC, which contributes to decreased prefrontal cortical outputs. Moreover, prelimbic glutamatergic projections to GABAergic interneurons in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are diminished, leading to loss of cortical-cortical inhibition and increased pyramidal neuron activity in the ACC. Chemogenetic activation of prelimbic VIP interneurons restores neuronal responses in the mPFC-ACC pathway and attenuates pain-like behaviors in mice. Furthermore, restoration of prelimbic outputs to the ACC reverses nerve injury-induced ACC hyperactivation. These findings reveal mPFC circuit changes associated with neuropathic pain and highlight VIP interneurons as potential therapeutic targets for pain treatment.

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