The role of importin α3 in sensory neurons upon in vitro injury

Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons can grow up to a meter long in the adult human. Upon injury, peripheral axons regenerate but mostly functional recovery is poor due to a slower growth rate and misrouting target, this as a consequence provokes neuropathic pain. How can we modulate growth and thus avoid aberrant regeneration and inaccurate target reinnervation? Previously, we observed that importin ɑ3 protein modulates the pain response via c-FOS transcription factor. So far, it is unknown if the reduction of importin ɑ3 and/or influence of neurotrophins (Neurotrophin-3, Nerve Growth Factor) modulate axonal growth and survival after injury. Here, we are investigating how the injury impacts axonal growth and neuronal survival using in vitro injury model in wildtype and importin ɑ3 mutant sensory neurons with or without neurotrophic factor treatment. Our high-throughput imaging and blinded quantification approach allowed us to obtain unbiased results. Future prospects are to provide insights on signaling mechanisms of regulation between axonal growth dynamics and pain perception in vivo.