Mouse study isolates neurons responsible for triggering sneezing and coughing

A team of medical researchers from the Washington University Pain Center in St. Louis, working with colleagues from the Georgia Institute of Technology, isolated neurons from the airways of mice that trigger sneezing and coughing.

In their study, published in the open-access journal CellThe group experimented with activating ion channels in mice forced to sneeze and/or cough and used the results to isolate the neurons involved.

Previous research has categorized neurons in the mouse airways based on the ion channels on the cell surface. In the new study, the researchers used that information to look for the specific neurons involved in triggering sneezing and/or coughing, a process that involved exposing the ion channels to different compounds to see how they would respond.

The researchers discovered a compound called BAM 8-22 that causes sneezing in mice. Previous research had already shown that this compound activates the MrgprC11 ion channel. This led the research team to suspect that neurons carrying MrgprC11 channels were the ones triggering the sneezing.

To confirm these results, they removed these neurons from the airways of test mice and then infected them with the flu virus. The team found that the mice became sick but did not sneeze, a clear sign that they had found the right neurons.

The team followed much the same approach to identify the neurons responsible for triggering coughs in mice. They found several neurons in the trachea that expressed a chemical known to be a signal. Once again, removing them removed the cough trigger.

The team has already refocused its attention: It wants to learn more about the sequence of events that occurs when the neurons responsible for sneezing or coughing are activated. It also plans to find out whether similar types of neurons are at work in humans.

They note that previous research has shown that sensory information in most animals typically involves processing more triggers than are found; so there is likely more to discover. Learning more about these triggers, they note, could help develop more effective symptomatic remedies.

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