# Activity-dependent cell survival in the adult somatosensory dorsal horn: Implications for sensorimotor behaviors during aging

> **NIH AG R01** · SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES · 2026 · $620,441

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The somatosensory dorsal horn comprises an array of neuronal populations that receive sensory information
from the skin. In recent years, the development of transcriptomic and intersectional genetic tools has allowed
the characterization of these populations in young adult animals with respect to their distinct molecular identities
and functional roles in the processing and transmission of touch, pain and itch information. Preliminary data
indicate that the survival of neurons in the dorsal horn of adult mice is dependent on excitatory input from touch
receptors in the skin. This has implications for the processing of somatosensory information during aging, in
which the transmission of touch information is impaired by demyelination and by the loss of mechanosensory
end organs including Merkel cells (Feng et al., 2018). Chronic silencing Merkel cells in young adult Atoh1CreERT2;
Piezo2f/f mice results in the apoptotic loss of excitatory and inhibitory dorsal horn neurons by 20-25%, with some
molecularly defined populations being highly susceptible to cell death and others being resistant. A similar pattern
of neuronal cell loss by apoptosis is detected in the dorsal horn of 2-year-old mice. The objective of this proposal
is to characterize activity-dependent changes to the cellular composition of the spinal dorsal horn during aging
and to determine the functional consequences of dorsal horn remodeling for the execution of sensorimotor
behaviors as animals age. These experiments will (1) selectively perturb activity in different classes of cutaneous
afferent to identify inputs that support cell survival in adult mice; (2) identify dorsal horn populations, defined by
molecular profile, that are maintained by input from the periphery; (3) identify molecularly defined dorsal horn
populations that are reduced in size during aging; (4) test the hypothesis that the reduction in the size of the
neuronal population marked by expression of Cck and Sst 

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11296614
- **Project number:** 1R01AG093283-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES
- **Principal Investigator:** David M Acton
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AG
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $620,441
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2026-02-15T00:00:00 → 2031-01-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11296614

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11296614, Activity-dependent cell survival in the adult somatosensory dorsal horn: Implications for sensorimotor behaviors during aging (1R01AG093283-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-08 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11296614. Licensed CC0.

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