Nerve Terminal Degeneration in Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
Session Number
Q12
Advisor(s)
Nirupa Jayaraj, Northwestern University Daniela Menichella, Northwestern University Richard Miller, Northwestern Universit
Location
A-121
Start Date
28-4-2016 10:15 AM
End Date
28-4-2016 10:40 AM
Abstract
Diabetes Type II affects at least 382 million people worldwide. One of the long-term complications of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy which leads to higher mortality and morbidity with painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) as the most common cause of such pain, affecting about a quarter of diabetic individuals. Using Nav 1.8/cre X tomato reporter mice on a high fat diet which have the reporter gene Nav1.8 labeled with red fluorescence as a model for diabetes, the presence of nociceptors, which are nerves that sense pain, can be observed during the development and progression of diabetes over the course of 10 weeks. After cutting 20 micron skin sections of both regular diet (11% fat diet) and high fat diet mice (42% fat diet) with a cryostat, the tissue is viewed under a confocal microscope (FV10i) to compare the difference in the number of nociceptor nerve endings between the two types of mice. Preliminary results suggest that the number of nociceptors in high fat diet mice decreases over time with a complete lack of nerve endings by 10 weeks. Results from this study demonstrate the role of nociceptors in PDN and extend our knowledge of the mechanisms and treatments for diabetes.
Nerve Terminal Degeneration in Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
A-121
Diabetes Type II affects at least 382 million people worldwide. One of the long-term complications of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy which leads to higher mortality and morbidity with painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) as the most common cause of such pain, affecting about a quarter of diabetic individuals. Using Nav 1.8/cre X tomato reporter mice on a high fat diet which have the reporter gene Nav1.8 labeled with red fluorescence as a model for diabetes, the presence of nociceptors, which are nerves that sense pain, can be observed during the development and progression of diabetes over the course of 10 weeks. After cutting 20 micron skin sections of both regular diet (11% fat diet) and high fat diet mice (42% fat diet) with a cryostat, the tissue is viewed under a confocal microscope (FV10i) to compare the difference in the number of nociceptor nerve endings between the two types of mice. Preliminary results suggest that the number of nociceptors in high fat diet mice decreases over time with a complete lack of nerve endings by 10 weeks. Results from this study demonstrate the role of nociceptors in PDN and extend our knowledge of the mechanisms and treatments for diabetes.