# Mapping the human DRG and spinal cord functional genome at cellular and spatial resolution

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS · 2024 · $618,379

## Abstract

There are clear differences between mouse and human nociceptors that have profound implications for the
development of pain therapeutics that target the peripheral nervous system. Our spatial sequencing experiments
reveal a distinct set of cell types in the human dorsal root ganglion (DRG). In this research project, we will
compare DRG tissues from organ donors and surgical patients with chronic pain. We will include a range of ages
across the adult life-span in both men and women in an ethnically diverse population. In addition to the DRG, we
will also examine the spinal cord. We have already conducted SPLiT-seq and spatial transcriptomic analysis of
dorsal and ventral horn from a select number of organ donors demonstrating the viability of both techniques. Our
data shows that like the DRG, there are clear species differences in the spinal cord highlighting the importance
of this discovery work. In our first aim we will use spatial sequencing and SPLiT-seq technologies to precisely
define the cell types of the human DRG. We will use organ donor and pain patient DRGs to define how cellular
transcriptomes change with pain, and if the changes covary with sex and age. SN ATAC-seq will identify
transcriptional states and regulatory elements in human DRG. In our second aim we will use the same
technologies to map the cell types of the human dorsal horn. We will strive to use the combined DRG and spinal
cord data to understand how DRG neuron subtypes are likely to connect to subsets of dorsal horn neurons. We
will fully characterize the human neurons that comprise the spino-thalamic tract. Finally, in our third aim we will
use ribosome profiling on human DRG and spinal cord to gain new insight into translational events in these
tissues. Long-read sequencing will be used to map RNA modifications and splicing in a set of mRNAs that are
critical for pain. Our work will create a comprehensive atlas of the transcriptome, epi-transcriptome, and
translatome of neurons that comprise the first synapses in the pain pathway, including in chronic pain conditions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10930055
- **Project number:** 5U19NS130608-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS
- **Principal Investigator:** Theodore J. Price
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $618,379
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-19 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10930055

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10930055, Mapping the human DRG and spinal cord functional genome at cellular and spatial resolution (5U19NS130608-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10930055. Licensed CC0.

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