Effects of Nogo-A deletion on the trigeminal ganglion

Nogo-A is a major regulator of neural development and regeneration in the central nervous system, but its role in tooth innervation remains largely unknown. Neurons of the trigeminal ganglion innervate the teeth. We showed that Nogo-A is expressed in the trigeminal ganglion and tooth-related nerve fibres. Nogo-A deletion in mice leads to a less complex neuronal network when compared to wild-type animals. Bulk RNA sequencing on the trigeminal ganglia of Nogo-A KO and wild-type mice revealed gene expression changes associated with alterations in neurotrophin signalling and neuronal synaptic formation during the development and maturation of the trigeminal neurons. The trigeminal ganglia were isolated from wild-type and Nogo-A KO mice at embryonic day 14 (E14) and postnatal day 25 (P25). Total RNA was extracted and sequenced. n = 4 wild-type and n = 4 Nogo-A KO animals were analysed for each stage; each sample contains one trigeminal ganglion.Nogo-A是中枢神经系统神经发育与再生的核心调控因子，但其在牙齿神经支配中的功能尚未明确。三叉神经节（trigeminal ganglion）的神经元负责支配牙齿组织。本研究证实，Nogo-A在三叉神经节及牙齿相关神经纤维中均有表达。小鼠体内Nogo-A基因敲除后，其神经元网络的复杂程度相较于野生型小鼠显著降低。对Nogo-A敲除（KO）及野生型小鼠的三叉神经节开展批量RNA测序（bulk RNA sequencing），结果显示，在三叉神经元的发育与成熟阶段，Nogo-A缺失会引发与神经营养因子信号通路改变及神经元突触形成异常相关的基因表达变化。实验分别在胚胎第14天（E14）与出生后第25天（P25），从野生型及Nogo-A敲除小鼠体内分离得到三叉神经节，随后提取总RNA并进行测序。每个发育阶段均分析4只野生型小鼠与4只Nogo-A敲除小鼠的样本；每个样本对应单个三叉神经节。