Scientific Publications
A list of my scientific publications with links to each paper. Please send me an email (sarajager@msn.com) if you would like a pdf version or if you have any questions or comments.
In vivo calcium imaging shows that satellite glial cells have increased activity in painful states
Sara Elgaard Jager, George Goodwill, Kim I. Chisholm, Franziska Denk, BioRxiv October 2022
This is my main project from my Lundbeck fellowship at Denk lab in London. We investigated satellite glial cells’ in vivo calcium response in the dorsal root ganglion. We found that the satellite glial cells do have a calcium response, but they seem to be working on their own schedule. From in vitro work we expected to see that the satellite glial cells respond immediately to neuronal firing, but we only saw this in very few cells under certain conditions. We moved on to look at the calcium responses in satellite glial cells in CFA treated and pSNL injured mice. We found that in these painful conditions, satellite glial cells have more calcium responses compared to naive mice. We still don’t know much about the function of calcium responses in satellite glial cells. As always more research is needed.
Comparative transcriptional analysis of the satellite glial cell injury response
Sara Elgaard Jager, Lone Tjener Pallesen, Lin Lin, Francesca Izzi, Alana Miranda Pinheiro, Sara Villa-Hernandez, Paolo Cesare, Christian Bjerggaard Vaegter, Franziska Denk, Wellcome Trust, May 2022
This paper was my coronavirus lockdown project. We looked at the publicly available single cell RNAseq datasets with satellite glial cells after sciatic nerve injury. We compared them to each other and to a new dataset with sciatic nerve ligation. We found that the satellite glial cells have a common reaction despite different time points and injury conditions (ligation and crush). The common response includes down regulation of genes involved in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Which consequences this could have is still unknown. Next we compared the acutely sequenced satellite glial cells to the transcriptome of satellite glial cells after 3 days in culture. We found that some satellite glial cells change their phenotype to a Schwann cell precursor-like state when kept in vitro. This is important when interpreting results obtained in vitro. We have made the datasets and analysis available on the Broad Institute Single Cell Portal which has a very easy user interface. You can check it out here.
A transcriptional toolbox for exploring peripheral neuro-immune interactions.
Liang Z, Hore Z, Harley P, Stanley FU, Michrowska A, Dahiya M, La Russa F, Jager SE, Villa-Hernandez S, Denk F., Pain. 2020 Jun 24.
This paper is a collaborative effort led by Dr. Liang and Miss Hore where we investigated how cell types in the peripheral nervous system respond to a peripheral nerve injury. The RNAseq data generated in the paper is easily accessible on this website together with data from other groups. Collectively the website covers neurons, satellite glial cells, Schwann cells, macrophages and other immune cells.
Schwann cell p75 neurotrophin receptor modulates small fiber degeneration in diabetic neuropathy
Gonçalves, N.P., Jager, S.E., Richner, M., Murray, S.S., Mohseni, S., Jensen, T.S., Vægter, C.B., GLIA, 2020, 68(12), pp. 2725–2743
Paper led by my very talented and productive colleague Dr. Gonçalves.
Jager, S.E., Pallesen, L.T., Richner, M., ...Denk, F., Vægter, C.B., GLIA, 2020, 68(7), pp. 1375–1395
This paper includes the main results from my PhD work regarding satellite glial cells transcriptive response following peripheral nerve injury. We show that satellite glial cells upregulate genes that could influence the immune system and downregulate genes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis. The RNAseq data generated is easily accessible on this website. The satellite glial cells are located in the dorsal root ganglia which has a high cell density. The high density makes it difficult to distinguish which cell type express which proteins with immunohistochemistry. It can therefore be very informative to check the RNAseq data on the website to see if the satellite glial cells express the mRNA of interest.
Isolation of satellite glial cells for high-quality RNA purification
Jager, S.B., Pallesen, L.T., Vaegter, C.B., Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 2018, 297, pp. 1–8
Method paper describing how to obtain high-quality RNA after intracellular staining and sorting (FACS) of satellite glial cells. This method took along time to develop. It required all my stubbornness to get it done but luckily I succeeded.
Sex differences in peripheral not central immune responses to pain-inducing injury
Lopes, D.M., Malek, N., Edye, M., Jager, S.B., McMurry, S., McMahon, S.B., Denk, F., Scientific Reports, 2017, 7(1), 1646
Hydraulic extrusion of the spinal cord and isolation of dorsal root ganglia in rodents
Richner, M., Jager, S.B., Siupka, P., Vaegter, C.B., Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2017, 2017(119), e55226
Avoiding experimental bias by systematic antibody validation
Jager, S.B., Vaegter, C.B., Neural Regeneration Research, 2016, 11(7), pp. 1079–1080
Gambarotta, G., Pascal, D., Ronchi, G., Morano, M., Jager, S.B., Moimas, L., Zentilin, L., Giacca, M., Giacca, M., Perroteau, P., Tos, P., Geuna, S., Raimondo, S., Gene Therapy, 2015, 22(11), pp. 901–907
Ronchi, G., Jager, S.B., Vaegter, C.B., ...Giacobini-Robecchi, M.G., Geuna, S., Journal of the Peripheral Nervous System, 2014, 19(3), pp. 224–233
The mouse median nerve experimental model in regenerative research
Jager, S.B., Ronchi, G., Vaegter, C.B., Geuna, S., BioMed Research International, 2014, 2014, 701682