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

Journal of Pain · Mar 1, 2026Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

A Reference Atlas of the Human Dorsal Root Ganglion

Shamsuddin A. Bhuiyan, Saad S. Nagi, Ishwarya Sankaranarayanan, Evangelia Semizoglou, Dmitry Usoskin, Lite Yang, Huasheng Yu, Asta Arendt-Tranholm, Zachariah Bertels, Parth Bhatia, Otmane Bouchatta, Kevin Boyer, Anna M. Cervantes, Joshua I. Chalif, Himanshu Chintalapudi, , NIH PRECISION Human Pain Network

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.

bioRxiv · Nov 5, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

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

Guoyan Zhao, Kevin Boyer, Pauline Meriau, Lite Yang, Huma Umber Naz, Sarah F. Rosen, George Murray, Adam J. Dourson, Juliet M. Mwirigi, John Smith Del Rosario, Maria Payne, Prashant Gupta, Jiwon Yi, Richard A. Slivicki, Zachariah Bertels, , Valeria Cavalli

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

bioRxiv · Sep 21, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

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

Jiwon Yi, Lite Yang, Allie J. Widman, Alexa Toliver, Zachariah Bertels, John Smith Del Rosario, Adam J. Dourson, Prashant Gupta, Rakesh Kumar, Jun-Nan Li, Maria Payne, Richard A. Slivicki, Juliet M. Mwirigi, Alexander G. Chamessian, Kesav Kothapalli, , PRECISION Human Pain Network

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

bioRxiv · Mar 25, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

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

Shamsuddin A. Bhuiyan, Mengyi Xu, Lite Yang, Evangelia Semizoglou, Parth Bhatia, Katerina I. Pantaleo, Ivan Tochitsky, Aakanksha Jain, Burcu Erdoğan, Steven J. Blair, Victor Cat, Juliet M. Mwirigi, Ishwarya Sankaranarayanan, Diana Tavares‐Ferreira, Ursula Green, , William R. Renthal

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.

Science Advances · Jun 21, 2024Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Bradykinin receptor expression and bradykinin-mediated sensitization of human sensory neurons

Jiwon Yi, Zachariah Bertels, John Smith Del Rosario, Allie J. Widman, Richard A. Slivicki, Maria Payne, Henry M. Susser, Bryan A. Copits, Robert W. Gereau

This study characterizes bradykinin receptor expression and function in human dorsal root ganglia neurons, finding conserved acute hyperexcitability and age/pain history-related B1 receptor expression.

Pain · Sep 13, 2023Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

PACAP-PAC1 Receptor Inhibition is Effective in Models of Opioid-Induced Medication Overuse Headache

Zachariah Bertels, Elizaveta Mangutov, Kendra Siegersma, Alycia F Tipton, Amynah A. A. Pradhan

This study shows that inhibiting PACAP-PAC1 receptors reduces opioid-induced chronic headache in mouse models by blocking PACAPergic mechanisms.

bioRxiv · Dec 5, 2021 · PreprintNeuroscience

Neuronal complexity is attenuated in chronic migraine and restored by HDAC6 inhibition

Zachariah Bertels, Harinder Singh, Isaac J. Dripps, Kendra Siegersma, Alycia F Tipton, Wiktor Witkowski, Zoie C. Sheets, Pal V. Shah, Catherine M. Conway, Elizaveta Mangutov, Mei Ao, Valentina Z. Petukhova, Bhargava Karumudi, Pavel A. Petukhov, Serapio M. Baca, , Amynah A. A. Pradhan

This study shows HDAC6 inhibition restores neuronal complexity in chronic migraine models, suggesting it as a potential therapeutic target.

eLife · Apr 15, 2021Peer-reviewedNeuroscience