Research Interests

• Neurotransmitter receptors/Signal transduction
• Purine receptors
• Post-translational modification of ion channels
• Spinal cord physiology
• Pain/Nociception
• Excitotoxicity/Neurodegeneration

Research Activities

My overall program of research is directed towards investigating cellular and molecular aspects of the central processing of nociceptive information. My studies are focused on the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. I am focusing my work on adenosine, ATP and excitatory amino acids (EAAs). EAAs are the principal mediators of fast excitatory transmission in many regions of the central nervous system including the dorsal horn.

Cellular mechanisms of action of adenosine and ATP:
The purines, adenosine and ATP, have been implicated as having distinct physiological roles in the dorsal horn: adenosine is an inhibitory mediator whereas ATP excites dorsal horn neurons. The purpose of my studies is to elucidate the receptor signal transduction ion channel pathways utilized by adenosine and ATP to modulate the function of neurons in the dorsal horn.

Excitatory amino acid receptors in synaptic transmission and plasticity:
One goal of my work is to characterize molecular mechanisms important for regulating EAA-mediated synaptic transmission in the dorsal horn. In my studies I am focusing on protein phosphorylation, a key mechanism for regulating EAA receptor function. I am examining effects of protein kinases and phosphatases on the two main classes of ionotropic EAA receptors, NMDA and non-NMDA receptors. I am characterizing kinase/phosphatase regulation of EAA receptor function by the use of dorsal horn neurons in primary culture.

Future Research Interests

Protein kinases and phosphatases in long-term enhancement of EAA-mediated synaptic responses.

Publications

Keller AF, Beggs S, Salter MW, De Koninck Y. Transformation of the output of spinal lamina I neurons after nerve injury and microglia stimulation underlying neuropathic pain. Molecular Pain 3:27-, 2007.

Moss A, Beggs S, Hathway GJ, Salter MW, Fitzgerald M. Spinal microglia and neuropathic pain in young rats. Pain 28: 215-224, 2007.

Beggs S, Salter MW. Stereological and somatotopic analysis of the spinal microglial response to peripheral nerve injury. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 21:624-633, 2007.

Paul S, Olausson P, Ruchkina I, Tronson N, Moran TD, Salter MW, Taylor J, Lombroso PJ. The protein tyrosine phosphatase STEP gates long-term potentiation and fear memory in the lateral amygdala. Biological Psychiatry 61: 1049-61, 2007.

MacVicar BA, Salter MW. Controlled capillaries. Nature 443:642-3, 2006. (News and Views)

Kalia LV, Pitcher GM, Pelkey KA, Salter MW. PSD-95 is a negative regulator of tyrosine kinase Src in the NMDA receptor complex. EMBO Journal 25:4971-4982, 2006.

Razavi R, Chan Y, Afifiyan FN, Liu XJ, Wan X, Yantha J, Tsui H, Tang L, Tsai S, Santamaria P, Driver JP, Serreze D, Salter MW, Dosch H-M. TRPV1+ sensory neurons control islet -cell stress and inflammation in autoimmune diabetes. Cell 127:1123-1135, 2006.

Beggs S, Salter MW. Neuropathic pain: symptoms, models and mechanisms. Drug Development Research, 67:289-301, 2006.

Coull JAM*, Beggs S*, Boudreau D, Boivin D, Tsuda M, Inoue K, Salter MW, De Koninck Y. BDNF from microglia mediates the shift in neuronal anion gradient that underlies neuropathic pain. Nature 438:1017-1021, 2005.

Tsuda M, Inoue K, Salter MW. Neuropathic pain and spinal microglia: a big problem from molecules in 'small' glia. Trends in Neuroscience 28:101-107, 2005.

Snyder EM, Nong Y, Almeida CG, Paul S, Choi EY, Nairn AC, Salter MW, Lombroso PJ, Gouras GK, Greengard P. Regulation of glutamate receptor trafficking by beta-amyloid. Nature Neuroscience, 8: 1051-1058, 2005.

Kalia LV, Gingrich JG, Salter MW. Src kinase regulation of synaptic function in the central nervous system. Invited review for Oncogene 23: 8007-8016, 2004.