The abstract is read at the publisher; the summary is JClub's.
An excitatory Penk-expressing neuronal population in murine Barrington’s nucleus (Bar-Penk) gates LUT control, with optogenetic activation suppressing external urethral sphincter activity during voiding.
- Why it matters: Barrington’s nucleus is essential for lower urinary tract function, but its neuronal subtypes and how they specialize for reflexive versus voluntary micturition remain unclear.
- What they did: The authors built a single-nucleus transcriptional atlas of murine Bar, then used activity mapping, optogenetic stimulation, chemogenetic activation, and targeted ablation to test Bar-Penk function.
- The result: Bar-Penk neurons are selectively active during voiding and their activation suppresses EUS activity; chemogenetic activation produces sex-specific aberrant micturition and ablation impairs voluntary marking behavior to female cues.
The findingWhy it mattersWhat they didThe result
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