Study on gate control theory of pain by two-photon microsucopy using gene-engineered mice.

皮肤的外周刺激被选择在脊髓的背角，而伤害性刺激被识别为大脑中的疼痛。为了阐明脊髓中的选择机制，我们利用双光子显微镜和表达荧光蛋白的基因工程小鼠，建立了可在体内长时间追逐的脊髓网络的成像系统。在这项研究中，我们证明了在足部注射福尔马林后30分钟至4小时，脊髓中神经突起和点状突起的强度增加，并在体内观察到对皮肤的机械、触摸和热刺激做出反应的神经元网络。

Peripheral stimuli in the skin are selected in the dorsal horn of spinal cord, and noxious stimuli are recognized as pain in the brain. In order to clarify the selection mechanism in the spinal cord, we established the imaging system for the spinal network which can chase for a long time in vivo using two-photon microscopy and gene-engineered mice expressing fluorescent protein. In this study, we demonstrated that intensity of neurites and puncta in the spinal cord increased for 30 min to 4 hours after injection of formalin in the foot, and that a network of neurons which respond to mechanical, touch, and thermal stimuli to the skin was visualized in vivo in fluorescent protein-expressing mice.