Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( 🔒 ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Need Help

Meningeal sensory neuroimmune interactions underlying migraine headache

Award Number: R01NS149672
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2031

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Meningeal sensory neuroimmune interactions underlying migraine headache - Migraine, a globally recognized brain disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of severe headache, remains difficult to treat, partly due to the poor understanding of its underlying pathophysiology. A major hypothesis proposes that an acute neurogenic inflammation of the brain meninges, driven by antidromic neuropeptide release, is a key mechanism generating persistent meningeal nociception and the ensuing headache during a migraine attack. Current clinical data suggest that the key vascular components of meningeal neurogenic inflammation - namely, vasodilatation and increased plasma protein extravasation - are neither necessary nor sufficient for eliciting migraine headache. This raises the question of whether other neurogenically driven inflammatory processes play a role. A growing body of evidence suggests that nociceptors regulate tissue immunity, thereby contributing to the onset and increased susceptibility to inflammation. However, surprisingly few mechanistic studies have directly examined how nociceptors regulate meningeal immunity and, in turn, drive meningeal inflammation. Moreover, it remains unclear whether such nociceptor-immune crosstalk can facilitate meningeal nociception and drive migraine headache. In this collaborative project, we propose to bridge these critical gaps in knowledge by combining our expertise in meningeal nociception and migraine pain (Levy) and functional interactions between nociceptors and meningeal immune cells (Chiu). We propose novel combinations of powerful methods, including optogenetics, 2-photon calcium imaging, flow cytometry, single-cell RNA sequencing, multiplex cytokine arrays, and analysis of pain behaviors to study meningeal neuroimmune interactions under conditions that mimic migraine attack onset and persistent migraine. We will first characterize the meningeal immune response that develops following selective optogenetic activation of Nav1.8-lineage meningeal nociceptors and determine how it relates to migraine-like pain behaviors (Aim 1). We will then examine whether previous meningeal nociceptor stimulation and related immune changes enhance meningeal nociception, thereby driving migraine-like pain (Aim 2). Finally, we will determine whether a neuroimmune CGRP- RAMP1 axis, involving T cells or neutrophils, facilitates meningeal inflammation, nociception, and migraine pain (Aim 3). Collectively, these experiments will provide critical new insights into the role meningeal nociceptor- immune crosstalk plays in episodic and chronic migraine and its potential as a therapeutic target.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $749,073 )
2026	2026	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC.	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	1	7/24/2026	NEW	$749,073
														Subtotal = $749,073

Grand Total All Awards = $749,073

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Meningeal sensory neuroimmune interactions underlying migraine headache

Award Number: R01NS149672

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2031

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer