Aubin Moutal

A Reference Atlas of the Human Dorsal Root Ganglion Somatosensory perception largely emerges from diverse peripheral sensory neurons whose cell bodies reside in dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Damage or dysfunction of DRG neurons is a major cause of chronic...

The BIG DRG paper is now up on @biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... so many people worked so hard to make this happen. Props to the whole PRECISION Human Pain Network.

#NIHfunding via the HEAL initiative for the PRECISION Human Pain Network has yielded a massive increase in data on human sensory neurons. One of the most amazing collaborations I've been part of. Data sharing across 4 centers, insights from experts across the network that really moved the needle.

Using quantitative proteomics and cross-omic analyses of human dorsal root ganglia, @aliibarry.bsky.social et al. show evidence for sexual dimorphism in TNFα signaling spanning the epigenetic signature to proteomic differences. Learn more in #PAIN bit.ly/42cM5wC

A molecular map of the human spinal dorsal and ventral horn defines arrangement of neuronal types and glial sex differences The spinal cord is the gateway for sensory information from the body as it ascends to the brain, as well as a major motor output center of the nervous system. It is also a key location for sensory-mot...

The latest work from our PRECISION Human Pain Center project is now up on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social led by Katherin Gabriel and @oliviadavis.bsky.social with a huge contribution from @allanhpool.bsky.social's lab and, of course, the Southwest Transplant Alliance: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A molecular map of the human spinal dorsal and ventral horn defines arrangement of neuronal types and glial sex differences The spinal cord is the gateway for sensory information from the body as it ascends to the brain, as well as a major motor output center of the nervous system. It is also a key location for sensory-mot...

Thrilled to share our latest preprint using single nuq sequencing and Xenium to define neuron organisation and sex differences in glia within human spinal cord. Truly a collaborative effort, with a big shoutout to Katherin Gabriel and @tedpricethepainguy.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Chronic Pain Prevalence after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Troubling Findings - Migraine Science Collaborative A new US population-based analysis shows significant increases in the prevalence of chronic pain, and of high-impact chronic pain, in the wake of the pandemic. The upsurges were apparent for almost al...

In case you missed it: A new US population-based analysis shows significant increases in the prevalence of chronic #pain in the wake of the pandemic. The upsurges were clear for almost all pain sites considered in the study, including #migraine/head pain.

migrainecollaborative.org/chronic-pain...

Postdoctoral Research Position University of California, Los Angeles is hiring. Apply now!

🚨 Please RT!
We’re recruiting a motivated postdoc to dissect the neurocircuits of affective pain.
Expertise in behavioral models of pain/SUDs, stereotaxy, microscopy, opto/chemogenetics, or fiber photometry encouraged.
Apply 👉 recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF10647

#Neuroscience #Postdoc

huge news for T-type Ca channels: ir.praxismedicines.com/news-release...

AAV-mediated overexpression of Prdm12 in knee-innervating afferents reduces inflammatory joint pain and neuronal hyperexcitability in mice Inflammatory joint pain features in numerous musculoskeletal disorders that affect millions globally. The Prdm12 gene encodes a conserved zinc finger transcriptional regulator expressed selectively in...

New pre-print from @phar.cam.ac.uk & Bellefroid lab at ULB! Led by @mayadannawi.bsky.social w support from @interlukein.bsky.social & more! We investigate impact of overexpressing the zinc finger transcriptional regulator Prdm12 on sensory neuron function / joint pain. #neuroskyence #PainResearch

18 years since the Khanna lab began! Grateful to all the amazing trainees, collaborators, and to @ninds.bsky.social for their support. Excited for the next decade of chronic pain discoveries. Let’s keep the science cool, rigorous, and impactful! 🔬💥 #ChronicPain #CRMP2 #Nav1.7 #NeuroScience

Anti-CV2/CRMP5 autoantibodies as drivers of sensory neuron excitability and pain in rats - Nature Communications Lung and thymoma cancer patients often suffer from autoimmunity and related painful neuropathies. Here the authors show that patient-derived anti-CRMP5 autoantibody binds to rat dorsal root ganglia to...

Fascinating new work reveals how anti-CV2/CRMP5 autoantibodies may be a potential driver of neuropathic pain in paraneoplastic syndromes. This mechanistic insight suggests a new therapeutic approach for patients. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I am very pround and thankful for all the lab members that lent their expertise to push this work over the finish line : @nicodumaire.bsky.social, @clemencegiere.bsky.social, Erin Vest, Haya Alkhateeb, and @libertym.bsky.social .
#TeamScience #PainResearch

This work is part of the PhD thesis of the now Dr. Lyuba Salih!
Her determination and creativity carried this project from concept to publication.
Huge thanks to Jafar Kafaie for his (real life) clinical insights and the French team for providing us with validated patient samples.

FGFR3-autoantibodies are not simple biomarkers.
We demonstrate a mechanism via extraceullar binding of autoantibodies to FGFR3 and how to block it.
We think targeting FGFR3 autoantibodies is a new therapeutic entry point for autoimmune neuropathies.
#Therapeutics #AutoimmunePain

We also had fun with a wide range of techniques from RNAscope and western blot on human DRG, to skin nerve-terminal fractionation, peptide arrays, CRISPR gene editing in cultured and in-vivo DRG.
All converging on one conclusion: FGFR3-autoantibodies bind FGFR3 to sensitize pain.
#CRISPR #HumanDRG

This manuscript marks a turning point for our lab's translational mission. With Dr. Jafar Kafaie, we obtained clinical measures of small fiber neuropathy patients with or without FGFR3-autoantibodies that informed back our mecanistic studies in the lab.
#TranslationalPain

Pathogenic Role of FGFR3 Autoantibodies in Small Fiber Neuropathy Sensory neuronopathies (SNN) and small fiber neuropathies (SFN) are debilitating disorders associated with neuropathic pain, yet their underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Autoantibodies ag...

So excited to share our preprint uncovering FGFR3 autoantibodies as pathogenic drivers of pain sensitization.
Using patient serum, human DRG and rat models, we found that autoantibodies can find FGFR3 on sensory neurons to induce hyperexcitability and hypersensitivity.
#PainResearch #Autoimmunity

Chronic Pain Prevalence after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Troubling Findings - Migraine Science Collaborative A new US population-based analysis shows significant increases in the prevalence of chronic pain, and of high-impact chronic pain, in the wake of the pandemic. The upsurges were apparent for almost al...

MSC News: A US population-based analysis shows significant increases in chronic pain prevalence, and of high-impact chronic pain, after the pandemic. The upsurges were apparent for almost all pain sites considered in the study, including head/migraine pain.

migrainecollaborative.org/chronic-pain...

Attending #SfN2025 in San Diego☀️? Don’t miss the Dorris Neuroscience Center Symposium at @scripps.edu, happening right before the meeting. A great lineup of speakers to kick off your SfN week. Plan your trip accordingly and register for free here:
www.eventbrite.com/e/dorris-neu...

Please amplify!

Our new preprint is up! This is the main postdoc work of @wiesner-t.bsky.social focusing on exocytosis along the axon shaft and its regulation by the sub membrane actin-spectrin scaffold: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Read the thread below for a summary of our findings 🧵1/11

Gut microbiota and metabolites drive chronic sickle cell disease pain in mice Brandow et al. describe how the gut microbiome drives chronic sickle cell disease (SCD) pain. SCD guts contain excessive heme catabolites, fewer bacteria that metabolize bilirubin, and low levels of A...

1st paper from Sadler Lab is out!! Highlights: 1) A. muciniphila reverses sickle cell (SCD) pain, 2) fecal transplant from SCD mice induces pain via bilirubin-TRPM2 vagal signaling, 3) BilR+ bacteria less abundant in SCD patient poo, 4) RNAseq on HUMAN nodose ganglia! www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

New method development work from our lab that I hope will make it easier for labs to work with peripheral nervous system tissues recovered from organ donors, tissue donors, and fast autopsies: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... This work was led by the amazing duo of Joe Lesnak and Mandee Schaub

Role of β-Arrestin 2 in the antinociceptive and side effect profile of morphine and the novel mu opioid receptor agonists, kurkinorin and kurkinol - Neuropsychopharmacology Neuropsychopharmacology - Role of β-Arrestin 2 in the antinociceptive and side effect profile of morphine and the novel mu opioid receptor agonists, kurkinorin and kurkinol

Well, well, well: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Interested in a sabbatical in Lyon? The Collegium de Lyon provides accommodation and attractive interdisciplinary environment for 1 or 2 semesters. Open to all disciplines. You can be affiliated with any local department/lab. Apply now for 2026-27. collegium.universite-lyon.fr/2026-2027-un...

First grant since joining @cincychildrens.bsky.social has been awarded!! Excited to get to work on NIH HEAL Initiative "Early-Stage Discovery of New Pain Targets Within the Understudied Druggable Proteome" with the de la Pena lab!!! #PainResearch

That's awesome Congrats Sascha and Bryan !

BOOM! Cool to see the final form of this great work now published. Deep new insight into human peripheral neuropathy. Congrats @mheming.bsky.social and colleagues on a great study.

Very proud that our human PNS atlas is finally published in @natcomms.nature.com We found perineurial hyperplasia and lipid-associated nerve macrophages in #polyneuropathies.
Explore: pns-atlas.mzhlab.com
A tweetorial 1/13
doi.org/10.1038/s414...

This work is finally online as in-press preview!

JCI - Cell and molecular profiles in peripheral nerves shift toward inflammatory phenotypes in diabetic peripheral neuropathy www.jci.org/articles/vie...

CRMP2 expression and function is already validated in human lymphocytes from patients with HTLV1 and MS. Which brings a lot of translational relevance to this manuscript. It's all very exciting
academic.oup.com/jimmunol/art...
academic.oup.com/jimmunol/art...