During a PRF webinar on December 2, 2019, Maral Tajerian discussed her recent work showing that the hippocampal extracellular matrix regulates pain and its associated co-morbidities in a murine model of peripheral injury. After her talk, there was a Q&A period moderated by Min Zhuo.
- Maral Tajerian, PhD, Queens College at the City University of New York, US
- Min Zhuo, PhD, University of Toronto, Canada
Listen to the webinar
Here is an abstract of Tajerian’s talk:
Chronic pain is characterized by changes in nociception, affect, and cognition, and is often resistant to classical treatment, partly due to comorbid, maladaptive plastic changes in the central nervous system. Specifically, a role for the hippocampus has been proposed due to its involvement in cognition and memory as well as in modulating the overall pain experience. However, the extracellular alterations that parallel and facilitate changes in hippocampal function are understudied. This webinar will discuss our findings showing that structural and biochemical plasticity in the hippocampal extracellular matrix (ECM) is linked to behavioral, cellular, and synaptic changes in a mouse model of chronic pain. Specifically, we report deficits in working location memory that are associated with decreased hippocampal dendritic complexity, altered ECM microarchitecture, decreased ECM rigidity, and changes in the levels of key ECM components and enzymes, including increased levels of MMP8. We also report aberrations in long-term potentiation (LTP) and a loss of inhibitory interneuron perineuronal ECM nets, potentially accounting for the aberrations in LTP. Finally, we demonstrate that MMP8 is upregulated after injury and that its genetic downregulation normalizes the behavioral, electrophysiological, and extracellular alterations. Targeting ECM plasticity in the chronic pain brain provides a novel approach to understanding pain mechanisms and identifying therapeutic targets. This approach goes beyond examining nociceptive pathways themselves, and addresses structural factors supporting both pain and its related consequences.
Want some background reading? See the papers under Related Content in the right column of this page. Also visit the Tajerian lab website here.
Join the conversation about the webinar on Twitter. @PainResForum #PRFWebinar
See previous PRF webinars here.