# Multi-modal cell type atlases of somatosensory spinal cord neurons

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2022 · $400,650

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The major objective of this proposal is to classify somatosensory neurons in a more integrated manner by
capturing the transcriptomic, electrophysiological, and morphological properties of individual neurons in the
spinal dorsal horn (SDH) using the Patch-seq technique. The SDH is critical for processing distinct modalities of
sensation, such as touch, temperature, chemical, itch, and pain. Neurons in SDH are heterogenous and
composed of a vast majority of excitatory and inhibitory interneurons that exhibit a wide range of morphological,
physiological, and transcriptomic properties. Cell-type classification in the SDH provides a logistical and
conceptual framework for understanding how cells and circuits govern somatic sensation. Attempts to classify
neurons include morphological and/or electrophysiological properties, and more recently by transcriptomic
features. However, linking transcriptomically defined cell types in SDH to their electrophysiological/morphological
phenotypes remains a major challenge. The single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) coupled with patch clamp
recording (Patch-seq) is a powerful approach that enables one to directly relate the transcriptomic features of a
given neuron to the phenotypes of the same neuron, e.g., the neuron’s precise location, morphology,
electrophysiological properties, and the functions. In the preliminary study, we have successfully used this
technique to sample SDH neurons and acquired the neuron’s intrinsic firing properties and reconstructed
morphology from patched neurons. In this proposal, we will use the Patch-seq technique to classify
somatosensory neuron types in a more integrated manner by capturing the transcriptomic, electrophysiological,
and morphological properties of individual neurons in mouse SDH. Our proposed study will bridge the missing
link between transcriptomically defined cell types and morphological/electrophysiological properties of
somatosensory neurons in the SDH, which provide a critical stepping-stone for illustrating how the SDH codes
and relays distinct sensory modalities and how disruption of sensory processing in the SDH causes chronic pain
and itch.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10743857
- **Project number:** 7R21NS128600-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** Lingyong Li
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $400,650
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2022-07-15 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10743857

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10743857, Multi-modal cell type atlases of somatosensory spinal cord neurons (7R21NS128600-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10743857. Licensed CC0.

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