Antibiotics modulate activity of mouse and human dorsal root ganglia neurons
- 1The University of Texas at Dallas
Abstract
Antibiotics are among the most prescribed medications worldwide, yet their direct effects on eukaryotic tissues remain largely unexplored. Here, we used in vitro calcium imaging to determine if clinically relevant concentrations of common antibiotics alter mouse and human dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neuron activity. We found that {beta}-lactams, macrolides, and tetracyclines induce calcium flux in sensory neurons within minutes of application. Regardless of antibiotic class, neuronal responses depend on extracellular calcium entry. Pharmacological manipulations further revealed that cephalexin responses depend on TRPA1 activity whereas doxycycline responses require mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. These findings demonstrate that clinically relevant concentrations of antibiotics directly modulate sensory neuron activity through divergent mechanisms, thus expanding our current understanding of antibiotic side effects.
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BibTeX
@misc{plumb2026antibiotics,
title = {{Antibiotics modulate activity of mouse and human dorsal root ganglia neurons}},
author = {A. N. Plumb and J. B. Lesnak and J. M. Brandon and L. M. Cardona and M. A. Simms and M. L. Pratt and K. T. Ward and K. J. Tidgewell and G. Dussor and T. J. Price and K. E. Sadler},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.10.750724},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.10.750724v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Antibiotics modulate activity of mouse and human dorsal root ganglia neurons
AU - A. N. Plumb
AU - J. B. Lesnak
AU - J. M. Brandon
AU - L. M. Cardona
AU - M. A. Simms
AU - M. L. Pratt
AU - K. T. Ward
AU - K. J. Tidgewell
AU - G. Dussor
AU - T. J. Price
AU - K. E. Sadler
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/10
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.10.750724
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.10.750724v1
AB - Antibiotics are among the most prescribed medications worldwide, yet their direct effects on eukaryotic tissues remain largely unexplored. Here, we used in vitro calcium imaging to determine if clinically relevant concentrations of common antibiotics alter mouse and human dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neuron activity. We found that {beta}-lactams, macrolides, and tetracyclines induce calcium flux in sensory neurons within minutes of application. Regardless of antibiotic class, neuronal responses depend on extracellular calcium entry. Pharmacological manipulations further revealed that cephalexin responses depend on TRPA1 activity whereas doxycycline responses require mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. These findings demonstrate that clinically relevant concentrations of antibiotics directly modulate sensory neuron activity through divergent mechanisms, thus expanding our current understanding of antibiotic side effects.
ER -