Juliet M. Mwirigi

Hormonal factors are poor indicators of endometriosis pain

This study examines the relationship between sex hormone levels and endometriosis-related pain in women, finding weak associations between specific receptor transcript levels and pain intensity.

PixelPaws: a low-cost, open-source integrated platform for automated scoring of mouse behaviors

PixelPaws is an open-source platform for automated mouse behavior scoring that validates its performance against human observers in pain and opioid withdrawal assays.

Preferential innervation of endometriosis by hyperexcitable Ret/GFRα1+ nociceptors associates with target GDNF and clinical pain

The paper identifies hyperexcitable Ret/GFRα1+ nociceptors innervating endometriosis lesions that correlate with GDNF levels and clinical pain.

The Critical Role of Pdyn-Lineage Enteric Neurons in Colonic Motility and Visceral Interoception

This study identifies Pdyn-lineage neurons as sensory enteric neurons in the mouse colon that regulate motility and visceral interoception through optogenetic activation.

Live cell imaging reveals paclitaxel-induced lysosome motility and function disruption in DRG neurons

This study shows paclitaxel disrupts lysosome motility and function in DRG neurons, and MNK1/2 inhibition with eFT508 restores lysosomal signaling and alleviates CIPN.

A multi-omic atlas of human autonomic and sensory ganglia implicates cell types in peripheral neuropathies

This paper creates a multi-omic atlas of human autonomic and sensory ganglia, identifying cell-type-specific features and disease associations in peripheral neuropathies.

Mapping Somatosensory Afferent Circuitry to Bone Identifies Neurotrophic Signals Required for Fracture Healing

The paper identifies neurotrophic signals, particularly FGF9, required for fracture healing by mapping somatosensory afferent circuitry to bone and analyzing gene expression changes in DRG neurons.

A Reference Atlas of the Human Dorsal Root Ganglion

This paper constructs a human dorsal root ganglion reference atlas, identifying 22 neuronal subtypes and 10 non-neuronal cell types, and reveals functional differences between human and mouse DRG neurons.

Single nucleus multi-omic atlas of human dorsal root ganglia reveals the contribution of nonneuronal cell types to pain

This study creates a single-nucleus multi-omic atlas of human dorsal root ganglia, identifying novel regulatory mechanisms and therapeutic targets for pain.

Deciphering the molecular landscape of human peripheral nerves: implications for diabetic peripheral neuropathy

This study uses bulk and spatial RNA sequencing to analyze human peripheral nerves in diabetic patients, revealing pathway differences, immune cell shifts, and mRNA localization changes linked to diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Expansion of OSMR expression and signaling in the human dorsal root ganglion links OSM to neuropathic pain

The paper shows OSM-OSMR signaling via MAPKs drives transcriptomic changes in human DRG linked to neuropathic pain.

Multimodal profiling of human sensory neurons links electrical properties to transcriptional identity

This study links electrical properties to transcriptional identities in human sensory neurons, identifying associations between pain history and specific electrophysiological subtypes.

Epigenomic landscape of the human dorsal root ganglion: sex differences and transcriptional regulation of nociceptive genes

The paper examines sex differences in the epigenomic landscape of human dorsal root ganglia, identifying sex-specific chromatin accessibility and transcription factor binding patterns associated with nociceptive gene regulation.

Persistent changes in nociceptor translatomes govern hyperalgesic priming in mouse models

The paper identifies persistent changes in nociceptor mRNA translation following hyperalgesic priming and shows Gpr88 and Metrn regulate this state.

Harmonized cross-species cell atlases of trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia

The paper builds harmonized cross-species cell atlases of DRG and TG, identifies 29 cell types across 6 species, and shows transcriptomic similarities and differences in sensory neurons.

RNA isoform expression landscape of the human dorsal root ganglion (DRG) generated from long read sequencing

The paper uses long-read sequencing to characterize RNA isoform expression in human dorsal root ganglia, identifying novel splice-junctions and isoforms of pain-related genes.

Interleukin-6 induces nascent protein synthesis in human DRG nociceptors via MNK-eIF4E signaling

The paper shows IL-6 increases nascent protein synthesis in human DRG nociceptors through MNK1/2-eIF4E signaling, using human DRG explants and inhibitors.

Genetic editing of primary human dorsal root ganglion neurons using CRISPR-Cas9 with functional confirmation

This paper describes a non-viral CRISPR-Cas9 transfection method for editing primary human dorsal root ganglion neurons and confirms edits at genomic, protein, and functional levels.

VLK drives extracellular phosphorylation of EphB2 to govern the EphB2-NMDAR interaction and injury-induced pain

This study identifies VLK as an extracellular kinase that mediates EphB2 phosphorylation and pain responses by regulating synaptic protein interactions.

MNK inhibitor eFT508 (Tomivosertib) suppresses ectopic activity in human dorsal root ganglion neurons from dermatomes with radicular neuropathic pain

The paper shows that MNK inhibitor eFT508 reduces spontaneous activity in human DRG neurons from painful dermatomes.

The mitochondrial matrix protein cyclophilin D contributes to deficits in parvalbumin interneurons in schizophrenia

The paper investigates cyclophilin D (CypD) alterations in parvalbumin interneurons (PVIs) in schizophrenia, linking CypD to redox dysregulation and PVI dysfunction.

Meteorin alleviates Paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy in mice

This paper shows that recombinant mouse Meteorin reduces paclitaxel-induced neuropathy in mice by reversing glial reactivity and preventing nerve fiber loss.

Minimally invasive delivery of peptides to the spinal cord for behavior modulation

This paper presents a minimally invasive method to deliver peptides to the spinal cord for behavior modulation using optical stimulation of nanoparticles, demonstrating efficacy in inducing itching in mice without genetic modification.

A role for protease activated receptor type 3 (PAR3) in nociception demonstrated through development of a novel peptide agonist

The paper develops a PAR3 agonist and shows it induces mechanical hypersensitivity in mice, suggesting PAR3's role in nociception and plasticity.

The cellular basis of protease activated receptor type 2 (PAR2) evoked mechanical and affective pain

This study identifies a specific subset of sensory neurons expressing PAR2 that mediate mechanical and affective pain behaviors, clarifying the cellular basis of PAR2-evoked pain.