Michael E. Hildebrand

Spinal cord Ca2+ imaging reveals glial-driven central sensitization in post-traumatic osteoarthritis

The paper develops a Ca2+ imaging pipeline to analyze spinal cord activity in pain models, identifying a glial-driven signature in post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

Expression and localization of NMDA receptor GluN2 subunits in dorsal horn pain circuits across sex, species, and late postnatal development

The paper investigates the expression and localization of NMDA receptor GluN2 subunits in dorsal horn pain circuits across sex, species, and development, finding conserved expression but species- and development-specific localization patterns.

Processing and sectioning of organ donor spinal cord tissue for electrophysiology on acute human spinal cord slices

This paper describes a protocol for preparing viable human spinal cord slices for acute electrophysiological recordings to bridge the translational gap between rodent models and human patients.

Decreased KCC2 expression in the human spinal dorsal horn associated with chronic pain and long-term opioid use

Facilitation of Cav3.2 channel gating in pain pathways reveals a novel mechanism of serum-induced hyperalgesia

The paper identifies a novel mechanism of serum-induced hyperalgesia through the facilitation of Cav3.2 channel gating by the peptide albumin (1-26).

Heterogeneity of synaptic NMDA receptor responses within individual lamina I pain processing neurons across sex in rats and humans

The paper compares NMDA receptor decay kinetics in lamina I pain neurons across sex and species, finding conserved heterogeneity but species-specific differences in subunit contributions.

A Cellular Taxonomy of the Adult Human Spinal Cord

This paper presents a cellular taxonomy of the adult human spinal cord using single nucleus RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, identifying 29 glial and 35 neuronal clusters and highlighting motoneuron vulnerability to ALS.

Sexual dimorphism in a neuronal mechanism of spinal hyperexcitability across rodent and human models of pathological pain

The paper identifies a sex-specific neuronal mechanism of spinal hyperexcitability in pain models, showing differences in BDNF signaling between male and female rodents and humans.