Fig. 10. Chemogenetic neuronal activation increases mTOR activity.

DRGs injected with either hM3Dq or mCherry. All animals received CNO. One day after CNO administration, sections were stained for p-S6, a marker of mTOR activation. While some mCherry+ neurons had detectable p-S6, many did not (a–c, arrowheads). However, the vast majority of hM3Dq+ DRGs had high levels of p-S6 (d–f, arrows), even neurons that weakly expressed hM3Dq (asterisks). (g) Quantification of p-S6 fluorescence intensity. N = 43 mCherry⁺ neurons and 42 hM3Dq⁺ neurons. Mean ± SEM. Two-tailed unpaired t-test, ****p < 0.0001. Scale bar: 70 µm. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.