Prof. Dr. Jan Siemens
Institute of Pharmacology, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University
Prof. Dr. Hilmar Bading
Institute of Neurobiology, Heidelberg University
Activity-regulated gene programs leading to short-term and long-term metabolic plasticity in the spinal cord: role in acute and pathological forms of pain
The dorsal spinal cord is the first relay station for incoming noxious signals that arise from primary somatosensory afferent neurons. Aberrant gene regulation is a major contributor driving the transition from acute to chronic pain states. How pain-induced transcriptional changes shape functional alterations of diverse spinal cell types is only starting to be understood. We have identified a metabolic signalling molecule that is highly up-regulated in astrocytes upon painful stimulation. Preliminary metabolite analysis suggests that major energy-metabolic alterations occur in both spinal glia and neurons in the context of on-going and extended painful stimulation. These findings not only raise the question as to what signals trigger these metabolic alterations but, more generally, how spinal energy metabolism affects pain sensation. We aim to understand how pain-related synaptic activity induces metabolic state changes in neuroglial networks. Based on the uncovered metabolic signaling pathways, we aim to manipulate energy metabolism in the spinal cord in the context of pathological forms of pain in order to understand how metabolite flux affects pain responses in animal models.
Publications:
Schrenk-Siemens K, Pohle J, Rostock C, Abd El Hay M, Lam RM, Szczot M, Lu S, Chesler AT, Siemens J. Human stem cell-derived TRPV1-positive sensory neurons: A new tool to study mechanisms of sensitization. Cells. 11, 2022 Sep 17;11(18):2905. doi: 10.3390/cells11182905.
Yan, J., Bengtson, C.P., Buchthal, B., Hagenston, A.M., Bading, H. Coupling of NMDA receptors and TRPM4 guides discovery of unconventional neuroprotectants. Science 2020 Oct 9;370(6513):eaay3302. doi: 10.1126/science.aay3302.
Mauceri D, Buchthal B, Hemstedt TJ, Weiss U, Klein CD, Bading H. Nasally delivered VEGFD mimetics mitigate strokeinduced dendrite loss and brain damage. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2020 Apr 14;117(15):8616-8623. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2001563117. Epub 2020 Mar 30.
Litke C, Bading H, Mauceri D. Histone deacetylase 4 shapes neuronal morphology via a mechanism involving regulation of expression of vascular endothelial growth factor D. J Biol Chem 2018;293(21):8196-8207.
Chandrasekar A, Olde Heuvel F, Tar L, Hagenston AM, Palmer A, Linkus B, Ludolph AC, Huber-Lang M, Boeckers T, Bading H, Roselli F. Parvalbumin Interneurons Shape Neuronal Vulnerability in Blunt TBI. Cereb Cortex 2018.
Rostock C, Schrenk-Siemens K, Pohle J, Siemens J. Human vs. Mouse Nociceptors - Similarities and Differences. Neu-roscience 2018;387:13-27.
Bas-Orth C, Tan YW, Lau D, Bading H. Synaptic Activity Drives a Genomic Program That Promotes a Neuronal Warburg Effect. J Biol Chem 2017;292(13):5183-5194.
Song K, Wang H, Kamm GB, Pohle J, Reis FC, Heppenstall P, Wende H, Siemens J. The TRPM2 channel is a hypotha-lamic heat sensor that limits fever and can drive hypothermia. Science 2016;353(6306):1393-1398.
Schrenk-Siemens K, Wende H, Prato V, Song K, Rostock C, Loewer A, Utikal J, Lewin GR, Lechner SG, Siemens J.PIEZO2 is required for mechanotransduction in human stem cell-derived touch receptors. Nat Neurosci. 2015 Jan;18(1):10-6. doi: 10.1038/nn.3894. Epub 2014 Dec 3.
Mauceri D, Hagenston AM, Schramm K, Weiss U, Bading H. Nuclear Calcium Buffering Capacity Shapes Neuronal Ar-chitecture. J Biol Chem 2015;290(38):23039-23049.
Hanack C, Moroni M, Lima WC, Wende H, Kirchner M, Adelfinger L, Schrenk-Siemens K, Tappe-Theodor A, Wetzel C, Kuich PH, Gassmann M, Roggenkamp D, Bettler B, Lewin GR, Selbach M, Siemens J. GABA blocks pathological but not acute TRPV1 pain signals. Cell 2015;160(4):759-770.
Hagenston AM, Simonetti M. Neuronal calcium signaling in chronic pain. Cell Tissue Res 2014;357(2):407-426.
Simonetti M, Hagenston AM, Vardeh D, Freitag HE, Mauceri D, Lu J, Satagopam VP, Schneider R, Costigan M, Bading H, Kuner R. Nuclear calcium signaling in spinal neurons drives a genomic program required for persistent inflam-matory pain. Neuron 2013;77(1):43-57.
Other publications:
Marty-Lombardi S, Lu S, Ambroziak W, Wende H, Schrenk-Siemens K, DePaoli-Roach AA, Hagenston AM, Tappe-Theodor A, Simonetti M, Kuner R, Fleming T, Siemens J. Neuron-astrocyte metabolic coupling facilitates spinal plasticity and maintenance of persistent pain. bioRxiv.2022.2012.2003.518519, 2022,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.12.03.518519, also under revision at Nature Metabolism.
People:
Anna Hagenston-Hertle (Hertle(at)nbio.uni-heidelberg.de)
Sebastian Marty (sebastian.marty(at)pharma.uni-heidelberg.de)