hope to see a bunch of you at #usasp2026! >>> check out presentation info below. follow us on instagram for WAY more content (+/- gritty).
Kate Sadler
@katesadlerphd.bsky.social
pain + the microbiome + sickle cell disease • assistant professor of neuroscience • yinzer • www.sadlerlab.com
Thrilled to share our latest preprint using single nuq sequencing and Xenium to define neuron organisation and sex differences in glia within human spinal cord. Truly a collaborative effort, with a big shoutout to Katherin Gabriel and @tedpricethepainguy.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A molecular map of the human spinal dorsal and ventral horn defines arrangement of neuronal types and glial sex differences
The spinal cord is the gateway for sensory information from the body as it ascends to the brain, as well as a major motor output center of the nervous system. It is also a key location for sensory-mot...
biorxiv.org
New research identifies a specific bacterial protease, Bfp1 from Bacteroides fragilis, that cleaves & activates host PAR2. This causes intestinal barrier disruption, sensitizes pain neurons, and triggers inflammation, leading to abdominal pain in IBD/IBS models. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A Bacteroides fragilis protease activates host PAR2 to induce intestinal pain and inflammation
Protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) is a central regulator of intestinal barrier function, inflammation, and pain. Upregulated intestinal proteolysis…
sciencedirect.com
Microbiota drives sickle cell disease pain Sickle cell disease mice have excessive heme catabolites, fewer bacteria metabolizing bilirubin & low A. muciniphila. A. muciniphila or TRPM2 inhibitors (blocking bilirubin signals) reduce SCD pain @katesadlerphd.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
Gut microbiota and metabolites drive chronic sickle cell disease pain in mice
Brandow et al. describe how the gut microbiome drives chronic sickle cell disease (SCD) pain. SCD guts contain excessive heme catabolites, fewer bacteria that metabolize bilirubin, and low levels of A...
cell.com
1st paper from Sadler Lab is out!! Highlights: 1) A. muciniphila reverses sickle cell (SCD) pain, 2) fecal transplant from SCD mice induces pain via bilirubin-TRPM2 vagal signaling, 3) BilR+ bacteria less abundant in SCD patient poo, 4) RNAseq on HUMAN nodose ganglia! www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
Gut microbiota and metabolites drive chronic sickle cell disease pain in mice
Brandow et al. describe how the gut microbiome drives chronic sickle cell disease (SCD) pain. SCD guts contain excessive heme catabolites, fewer bacteria that metabolize bilirubin, and low levels of A...
cell.com
short and sweet new preprint from the lab showing that the vaginal microbiome is a key driver of endometriosis pain! 🦠🩸 more details coming soon but very excited to be working on this criminally understudied chronic pain condition. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The vaginal microbiome drives endometriosis pain
Despite being one of two cardinal disease symptoms, endometriosis pain is poorly understood. Using a validated mouse model, we demonstrate that endometriosis-associated vaginal dysbiosis is sufficient...
biorxiv.org
This work is finally online as in-press preview! JCI - Cell and molecular profiles in peripheral nerves shift toward inflammatory phenotypes in diabetic peripheral neuropathy www.jci.org/articles/vie...
JCI - Cell and molecular profiles in peripheral nerves shift toward inflammatory phenotypes in diabetic peripheral neuropathy
jci.org
Our paper showing decreased KCC2 expression in the human spinal cord in people who died with a history of neuropathic pain is now published in PAIN: journals.lww.com/pain/abstrac... Great work from @oliviadavis.bsky.social and the teams of the De Koninck and Hildebrand labs. ❤️ 🇨🇦 collabs!
Decreased KCC2 expression in the human spinal dorsal horn... : PAIN
date there is no evidence supporting or opposing this hypothesis in humans. Here, we demonstrate that KCC2 expression is decreased in superficial dorsal horn neurons of organ donors who died with a do...
journals.lww.com
spending less time on here these days, but if you want more sadler lab updates, check out our new lab instagram (www.instagram.com/sadler_lab ; trying to reach more non-scientists!) and our fancy new website (www.sadlerlab.com).
Sickle cell pain pre-meeting for USASP was cancelled. Friendly reminder to call your representatives and tell them how important federal funding is for the study of ALL diseases — not just the diseases that affect them + people who look like them.
Delighted to highlight new work by Kelly Jameson and colleagues showing that select microbial metabolites in the small intestinal lumen regulate vagal activity www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Select microbial metabolites in the small intestinal lumen regulates vagal activity via receptor-mediated signaling
Neuroscience; Microbiome
cell.com
check it out! our lab's first review paper is officially in print and was selected as an editor's choice at Pain! fun summary video in this link in case you don't feel like reading🦠💩🐁: journals.lww.com/pain/fulltex...
Microbiome contributions to pain: a review of the... : PAIN
oorganisms and the neuroimmune networks that drive pain in such diseases. More recently, microbiomes both inside and across the surface of the body have been recognized for driving sensory symptoms in...
journals.lww.com
Very excited to share our new preprint: "Decreased KCC2 expression in the human spinal dorsal horn associated with chronic pain and long-term opioid use" led by @oliviadavis.bsky.social and Samuel Ferland, a collab between us, Yves De Koninck and Mike Hildebrand labs www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Decreased KCC2 expression in the human spinal dorsal horn associated with chronic pain and long-term opioid use
Loss of GABAergic and glycinergic inhibitory efficacy in the spinal dorsal horn is associated with neuropathic pain and opioid-induced hyperalgesia in rodent models. Downregulation of the KCC2 chlorid...
biorxiv.org
1/ 🧠 Excited to share our new preprint: Convergent state-control of endogenous opioid analgesia We uncover how cognitive + contextual factors—like injury, fear, and placebo—modulate pain through dynamic opioid signaling in the periaqueductal gray (PAG) biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
epithelial cells are REALLY COOL, EVERYBODY! thrilled to see @amikesell.bsky.social 's dissertation work published in Science Translational Medicine today!
Alex Mikesell@amikesell.bsky.social · 2y agoHere is a cool example of just how sensitive these skin cells are to touch using GCaMP calcium imaging in a living mouse!
Excited to share my dissertation work from the Stucky Lab! We found that keratinocytes drive touch pain caused by the chemo drug paclitaxel. Paclitaxel directly sensitizes keratinocytes to touch through PIEZO1! #PainResearch #touch @katesadlerphd.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
I started (at @katesadlerphd.bsky.social's suggestion, thanks Kate for pushing me) a pain neuroscience and pain research starter pack. I am sure I have missed many people so if I missed you, I am sorry, but please just ask me to add you in the thread below and I will do that. go.bsky.app/KboKNhg
I've joined the 🦋 migration! Here's a pain and somatosensory researchers starter pack. Comment or message me to be added #neuroscience #neuroskyence #pain 🧠 🔬 go.bsky.app/N3EmVKA
Two BOOM!s in one day: www.nature.com/articles/s41... This flies totally in the face of what I think I know about visceral pain, but when evidence challenges your preconceived notions, maybe it is time to consider changing my gastric pain view.
A vagus nerve dominant tetra-synaptic ascending pathway for gastric pain processing - Nature Communications
Gastric pain has limited treatment options and the nociceptive ascending pathway remains largely unclear. Here, the authors identify a glutamatergic tetra-synaptic NTS–LPB–PVT–PL circuit that provides...
nature.com
heyo! here's an out of date lab photo and some goodies to make this page look way less blank! fun review we wrote: journals.lww.com/pain/abstrac... preprint that shortens my life by 24 hr each day that it remains unpublished: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
