1 4637 102 NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCER FACTOR CAUSES EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF KV4.3 GENE AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY. PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY CAUSES A VARIETY OF ALTERATIONS IN PAIN-RELATED GENE EXPRESSION IN PRIMARY AFFERENT, WHICH UNDERLIE THE NEURONAL PLASTICITY IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN. ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTIC ALTERATIONS IS A LONG-LASTING DOWNREGULATION OF VOLTAGE-GATED POTASSIUM (K(V)) CHANNEL, INCLUDING K(V)4.3, IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG). THE PRESENT STUDY SHOWED THAT NERVE INJURY REDUCES THE MESSENGER RNA (MRNA) EXPRESSION LEVEL OF K(V)4.3 GENE, WHICH CONTAINS A CONSERVED NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCER ELEMENT (NRSE), A BINDING SITE FOR NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCER FACTOR (NRSF). MOREOVER, WE FOUND THAT INJURY CAUSES AN INCREASE IN DIRECT NRSF BINDING TO K(V)4.3-NRSE IN THE DRG, USING CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (CHIP) ASSAY. CHIP ASSAY FURTHER REVEALED THAT ACETYLATION OF HISTONE H4, BUT NOT H3, AT K(V)4.3-NRSE IS MARKEDLY REDUCED AT DAY 7 POST-INJURY. FINALLY, THE INJURY-INDUCED K(V)4.3 DOWNREGULATION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BLOCKED BY ANTISENSE-KNOCKDOWN OF NRSF. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT NERVE INJURY CAUSES AN EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF K(V)4.3 GENE MEDIATED THROUGH TRANSCRIPTIONAL SUPPRESSOR NRSF IN THE DRG.	2010	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
2 2565  34 EPIGENETICS INVOLVEMENT IN OXALIPLATIN-INDUCED POTASSIUM CHANNEL TRANSCRIPTIONAL DOWNREGULATION AND HYPERSENSITIVITY. PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY IS THE MOST FREQUENT DOSE-LIMITING ADVERSE EFFECT OF OXALIPLATIN. ACUTE PAIN SYMPTOMS THAT ARE INDUCED OR EXACERBATED BY COLD OCCUR IN ALMOST ALL PATIENTS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE FIRST INFUSIONS. EVIDENCE HAS SHOWN THAT OXALIPLATIN CAUSES ION CHANNEL EXPRESSION MODULATIONS IN DORSAL ROOT GANGLIA NEURONS, WHICH ARE THOUGHT TO CONTRIBUTE TO PERIPHERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY. MOST DYSREGULATED GENES ENCODE ION CHANNELS INVOLVED IN COLD AND MECHANICAL PERCEPTION, NOTEWORTHY MEMBERS OF A SUB-GROUP OF POTASSIUM CHANNELS OF THE K2P FAMILY, TREK AND TRAAK. DOWNREGULATION OF THESE K2P CHANNELS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS AN IMPORTANT TUNER OF ACUTE OXALIPLATIN-INDUCED HYPERSENSITIVITY. WE INVESTIGATED THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THIS PERIPHERAL DYSREGULATION IN A MURINE MODEL OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN TRIGGERED BY A SINGLE OXALIPLATIN ADMINISTRATION. WE FOUND THAT OXALIPLATIN-MEDIATED TREK-TRAAK DOWNREGULATION, AS WELL AS DOWNREGULATION OF OTHER K(+) CHANNELS OF THE K2P AND KV FAMILIES, INVOLVES A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR KNOWN AS THE NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCER FACTOR (NRSF) AND ITS EPIGENETIC CO-REPRESSORS HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS). NRSF KNOCKDOWN WAS ABLE TO PREVENT MOST OF THESE K(+) CHANNEL MRNA DOWNREGULATION IN MICE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION NEURONS AS WELL AS OXALIPLATIN-INDUCED ACUTE COLD AND MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY. INTERESTINGLY, PHARMACOLOGICAL INHIBITION OF CLASS I HDAC REPRODUCES THE ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECTS OF NRSF KNOCKDOWN AND LEADS TO AN INCREASED K(+) CHANNEL EXPRESSION IN OXALIPLATIN-TREATED MICE.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
3 1167  36 CONTRIBUTION OF DORSAL ROOT GANGLION OCTAMER TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR 1 TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY. NEUROPATHIC PAIN GENESIS IS RELATED TO GENE ALTERATIONS IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY. TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS CONTROL GENE EXPRESSION. IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED WHETHER OCTAMER TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR 1 (OCT1), A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR, CONTRIBUTED TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN CAUSED BY CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY (CCI) OF THE SCIATIC NERVE. CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY PRODUCED A TIME-DEPENDENT INCREASE IN THE LEVEL OF OCT1 PROTEIN IN THE IPSILATERAL L4/5 DRG, BUT NOT IN THE SPINAL CORD. BLOCKING THIS INCREASE THROUGH MICROINJECTION OF OCT1 SIRNA INTO THE IPSILATERAL L4/5 DRG ATTENUATED THE INITIATION AND MAINTENANCE OF CCI-INDUCED MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA, HEAT HYPERALGESIA, AND COLD ALLODYNIA AND IMPROVED MORPHINE ANALGESIA AFTER CCI, WITHOUT AFFECTING BASAL RESPONSES TO ACUTE MECHANICAL, HEAT, AND COLD STIMULI AS WELL AS LOCOMOTOR FUNCTIONS. MIMICKING THIS INCREASE THROUGH MICROINJECTION OF RECOMBINANT ADENO-ASSOCIATED VIRUS 5 HARBORING FULL-LENGTH OCT1 INTO THE UNILATERAL L4/5 DRG LED TO MARKED MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA, HEAT HYPERALGESIA, AND COLD ALLODYNIA IN NAIVE RATS. MECHANISTICALLY, OCT1 PARTICIPATED IN CCI-INDUCED INCREASES IN DNMT3A MRNA AND ITS PROTEIN AND DNMT3A-MEDIATED DECREASES IN OPRM1 AND KCNA2 MRNAS AND THEIR PROTEINS IN THE INJURED DRG. THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT OCT1 MAY PARTICIPATE IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN AT LEAST IN PART BY TRANSCRIPTIONALLY ACTIVATING DNMT3A AND SUBSEQUENTLY EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF OPRM1 AND KCAN2 IN THE DRG. OCT1 MAY SERVE AS A POTENTIAL TARGET FOR THERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS AGAINST NEUROPATHIC PAIN.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
4 2470  41 EPIGENETIC TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION OF MONOCYTE CHEMOTACTIC PROTEIN 3 CONTRIBUTES TO LONG-LASTING NEUROPATHIC PAIN. A MULTIPLEX ANALYSIS FOR PROFILING THE EXPRESSION OF CANDIDATE GENES ALONG WITH EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION MAY LEAD TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEX MACHINERY OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE FOUND THAT PARTIAL SCIATIC NERVE LIGATION MOST REMARKABLY INCREASED THE EXPRESSION OF MONOCYTE CHEMOTACTIC PROTEIN 3 (MCP-3, KNOWN AS CCL7) A TOTAL OF 33 541 GENES IN THE SPINAL CORD, WHICH LASTED FOR 4 WEEKS. THIS INCREASE IN MCP-3 GENE TRANSCRIPTION WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THE DECREASED TRIMETHYLATION OF HISTONE H3 AT LYS27 AT THE MCP-3 PROMOTER. THE INCREASED MCP-3 EXPRESSION ASSOCIATED WITH ITS EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OBSERVED IN THE SPINAL CORD WAS ALMOST ABOLISHED IN INTERLEUKIN 6 KNOCKOUT MICE WITH PARTIAL SCIATIC NERVE LIGATION. CONSISTENT WITH THESE FINDINGS, A SINGLE INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF RECOMBINANT PROTEINS OF INTERLEUKIN 6 SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED MCP-3 MESSENGER RNA WITH A DECREASE IN THE LEVEL OF LYS27 TRIMETHYLATION OF HISTONE H3 AT THE MCP-3 PROMOTER IN THE SPINAL CORD OF MICE. FURTHERMORE, DELETION OF THE C-C CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR TYPE 2 (CCR2) GENE, WHICH ENCODES A RECEPTOR FOR MCP-3, FAILED TO AFFECT THE ACCELERATION OF MCP-3 EXPRESSION IN THE SPINAL CORD AFTER PARTIAL SCIATIC NERVE LIGATION. A ROBUST INCREASE IN MCP-3 PROTEIN, WHICH LASTED FOR UP TO 2 WEEKS AFTER SURGERY, IN THE DORSAL HORN OF THE SPINAL CORD OF MICE WITH PARTIAL SCIATIC NERVE LIGATION WAS SEEN MOSTLY IN ASTROCYTES, BUT NOT MICROGLIA OR NEURONS. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE INCREASES IN BOTH MICROGLIA AND ASTROCYTES IN THE SPINAL CORD BY PARTIAL SCIATIC NERVE LIGATION WERE MOSTLY ABOLISHED IN INTERLEUKIN 6 KNOCKOUT MICE. MOREOVER, THIS INCREASE IN MICROGLIA WAS ALMOST ABOLISHED BY CCR2 GENE DELETION, WHEREAS THE INCREASE IN ASTROCYTES WAS NOT AFFECTED IN NERVE-LIGATED MICE THAT LACKED THE CCR2 GENE. WE ALSO FOUND THAT EITHER IN VIVO OR IN VITRO TREATMENT WITH MCP-3 CAUSED ROBUST MICROGLIA ACTIVATION. UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF MCP-3 ANTIBODY SUPPRESSED THE INCREASE IN MICROGLIA WITHIN THE MOUSE SPINAL CORD AND NEUROPATHIC PAIN-LIKE BEHAVIOURS AFTER NERVE INJURY. WITH THE USE OF A FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING ANALYSIS, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT A SINGLE INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF MCP-3 INDUCED DRAMATIC INCREASES IN SIGNAL INTENSITY IN PAIN-RELATED BRAIN REGIONS. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT INCREASED MCP-3 EXPRESSION ASSOCIATED WITH INTERLEUKIN 6 DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION AT THE MCP-3 PROMOTER AFTER NERVE INJURY, MOSTLY IN SPINAL ASTROCYTES, MAY SERVE TO FACILITATE ASTROCYTE-MICROGLIA INTERACTION IN THE SPINAL CORD AND COULD PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE NEUROPATHIC PAIN-LIKE STATE.	2013	

5 5354  37 RE1-SILENCING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR CONTROLS THE ACUTE-TO-CHRONIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN TRANSITION AND CHRM2 RECEPTOR GENE EXPRESSION IN PRIMARY SENSORY NEURONS. NEUROPATHIC PAIN IS ASSOCIATED WITH PERSISTENT CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION IN PRIMARY SENSORY NEURONS, BUT THE UNDERLYING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS THAT CAUSE THESE CHANGES REMAIN UNCLEAR. THE MUSCARINIC CHOLINERGIC RECEPTORS (MACHRS), PARTICULARLY THE M2 SUBTYPE (ENCODED BY THE CHOLINERGIC RECEPTOR MUSCARINIC 2 (CHRM2) GENE), ARE CRITICALLY INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF SPINAL NOCICEPTIVE TRANSMISSION. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW CHRM2 EXPRESSION IS TRANSCRIPTIONALLY REGULATED. HERE WE SHOW THAT NERVE INJURY PERSISTENTLY INCREASED THE EXPRESSION OF RE1-SILENCING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR (REST, ALSO KNOWN AS NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCING FACTOR [NRSF]), A GENE-SILENCING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR, IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG). REMARKABLY, NERVE INJURY-INDUCED CHRONIC BUT NOT ACUTE PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY WAS ATTENUATED IN MICE WITH REST KNOCKOUT IN DRG NEURONS. ALSO, SIRNA-MEDIATED REST KNOCKDOWN REVERSED NERVE INJURY-INDUCED CHRONIC PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY IN RATS. NERVE INJURY PERSISTENTLY REDUCED CHRM2 EXPRESSION IN THE DRG AND DIMINISHED THE ANALGESIC EFFECT OF MUSCARINE. THE RE1 BINDING SITE ON THE CHRM2 PROMOTER IS REQUIRED FOR REST-MEDIATED CHRM2 REPRESSION, AND NERVE INJURY INCREASED THE ENRICHMENT OF REST IN THE CHRM2 PROMOTER IN THE DRG. FURTHERMORE, REST KNOCKDOWN OR GENETIC ABLATION IN DRG NEURONS NORMALIZED CHRM2 EXPRESSION AND AUGMENTED MUSCARINE'S ANALGESIC EFFECT ON NEUROPATHIC PAIN AND FULLY REVERSED THE NERVE INJURY-INDUCED REDUCTION IN THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF MUSCARINE ON GLUTAMATERGIC INPUT TO SPINAL DORSAL HORN NEURONS. OUR FINDINGS INDICATE THAT NERVE INJURY-INDUCED REST UP-REGULATION IN DRG NEURONS PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE ACUTE-TO-CHRONIC PAIN TRANSITION AND IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION OF CHRM2 IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
6 2112  49 EPIGENETIC GENE SILENCING UNDERLIES C-FIBER DYSFUNCTIONS IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN. PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY CAUSES NEUROPATHIC PAIN, WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE PARADOXICAL SENSATIONS OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS. CLINICALLY, NEGATIVE SIGNS ARE FREQUENTLY OBSERVED; HOWEVER, THEIR UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN. DYSFUNCTION OF C-FIBERS IS ASSUMED TO UNDERLIE NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS AND IS ACCOMPANIED BY LONG-LASTING DOWNREGULATION OF NA(V)1.8 SODIUM CHANNEL AND MU-OPIOID RECEPTOR (MOP) IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG). IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE FOUND THAT NERVE INJURY UPREGULATES NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCER FACTOR (NRSF) EXPRESSION IN THE DRG NEURONS MEDIATED THROUGH EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. IN ADDITION, CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT NERVE INJURY PROMOTES NRSF BINDING TO THE NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCER ELEMENT WITHIN MOP AND NA(V)1.8 GENES, THEREBY CAUSING EPIGENETIC SILENCING. FURTHERMORE, NRSF KNOCKDOWN SIGNIFICANTLY BLOCKED NERVE INJURY-INDUCED DOWNREGULATIONS OF MOP AND NA(V)1.8 GENE EXPRESSIONS, C-FIBER HYPOESTHESIA, AND THE LOSSES OF PERIPHERAL MORPHINE ANALGESIA AND NA(V)1.8-SELECTIVE BLOCKER-INDUCED HYPOESTHESIA. TOGETHER, THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT NRSF CAUSES PATHOLOGICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTION OF C-FIBERS, WHICH UNDERLIES THE NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN.	2010	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
7  657  27 BLOCKING THE SPINAL FBXO3/CARM1/K(+) CHANNEL EPIGENETIC SILENCING PATHWAY AS A STRATEGY FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN RELIEF. MANY EPIGENETIC REGULATORS ARE INVOLVED IN PAIN-ASSOCIATED SPINAL PLASTICITY. COACTIVATOR-ASSOCIATED ARGININE METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (CARM1), AN EPIGENETIC REGULATOR OF HISTONE ARGININE METHYLATION, IS A HIGHLY INTERESTING TARGET IN NEUROPLASTICITY. HOWEVER, ITS POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO SPINAL PLASTICITY-ASSOCIATED NEUROPATHIC PAIN DEVELOPMENT REMAINS POORLY EXPLORED. HERE, WE REPORT THAT NERVE INJURY DECREASED THE EXPRESSION OF SPINAL CARM1 AND INDUCED ALLODYNIA. MOREOVER, DECREASING SPINAL CARM1 EXPRESSION BY FBXO3-MEDIATED CARM1 UBIQUITINATION PROMOTED H3R17ME2 DECREMENT AT THE K(+) CHANNEL PROMOTER, THEREBY CAUSING K(+) CHANNEL EPIGENETIC SILENCING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. REMARKABLY, IN NAIVE RATS, DECREASING SPINAL CARM1 USING CARM1 SIRNA OR A CARM1 INHIBITOR RESULTED IN SIMILAR EPIGENETIC SIGNALING AND ALLODYNIA. FURTHERMORE, INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF BC-1215 (A NOVEL FBXO3 INHIBITOR) PREVENTED CARM1 UBIQUITINATION TO BLOCK K(+) CHANNEL GENE SILENCING AND AMELIORATE ALLODYNIA AFTER NERVE INJURY. COLLECTIVELY, THE RESULTS REVEAL THAT THIS NEWLY IDENTIFIED SPINAL FBXO3-CARM1-K(+) CHANNEL GENE FUNCTIONAL AXIS PROMOTES NEUROPATHIC PAIN. THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS THAT WILL AID IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE EFFICIENT AND SPECIFIC THERAPIES AGAINST NEUROPATHIC PAIN.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
8 6148  34 THE EXPRESSION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS MECP2 AND CREB IS MODULATED IN INFLAMMATORY PELVIC PAIN. EARLY ACTIVATION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IS ONE OF THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS CONTRIBUTING TO THE INDUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF CHRONIC PAIN STATES. PREVIOUS STUDIES IDENTIFIED THE CHANGES IN A NUMBER OF NOCICEPTION-RELATED GENES, SUCH AS CALCITONIN GENE-RELATED PEPTIDE (CGRP), SUBSTANCE P (SP), AND BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPIC FACTOR (BDNF) IN THE PELVIC ORGANS AFTER TRANSIENT COLONIC INFLAMMATION. THE GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION OF THESE NEUROPEPTIDES COULD BE MODULATED BY TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS METHYL-CPG-BINDING PROTEIN 2 (MECP2) AND CAMP RESPONSE ELEMENT-BINDING PROTEIN (CREB). IN THIS STUDY, WE AIMED TO EVALUATE TIME-DEPENDENT CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF MECP2 AND CREB IN THE LUMBOSACRAL (LS) SPINAL CORD AND SENSORY GANGLIA AFTER INFLAMMATION-INDUCED PELVIC PAIN IN RAT. ADULT SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS WERE TREATED WITH 2,4,6-TRINITROBENZENESULFONIC ACID (TNBS) TO INDUCE TRANSIENT COLONIC INFLAMMATION. LS (L6-S2) SPINAL CORD SEGMENTS AND RESPECTIVE DORSAL ROOT GANGLIAS (DRGS) WERE ISOLATED FROM CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS AT 1, 2, 6, 24 H AND 3 DAYS POST-TNBS TREATMENT. IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL (IHC) LABELING AND WESTERN BLOTTING EXPERIMENTS WERE PERFORMED TO ASSESS THE EXPRESSION OF MECP2, CREB AND THEIR PHOSPHORYLATED FORMS. TOTAL MECP2 EXPRESSION, BUT NOT PHOSPHORYLATED P-MECP2 (PS421MECP2) EXPRESSION WAS DETECTED IN THE CELLS OF THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN UNDER CONTROL CONDITIONS. COLONIC INFLAMMATION TRIGGERED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF MECP2-EXPRESSING NEURONS IN PARALLEL WITH ELEVATED NUMBERS OF PS421MECP2-EXPRESSING CELLS AT 2 H AND 6 H POST-TNBS. THE MAJORITY OF MECP2-POSITIVE CELLS (80 +/- 6%) CO-EXPRESSED CREB. TNBS TREATMENT CAUSED A TRANSIENT UP-REGULATION OF CREB-EXPRESSING CELLS AT 1 H POST-TNBS ONLY. THE NUMBER OF CELLS EXPRESSING PHOSPHORYLATED CREB (PS133CREB) DID NOT CHANGE AT 1 H AND 2 H POST-TNBS, BUT WAS DOWN-REGULATED BY THREE FOLDS AT 6 H POST-TNBS. ANALYSIS OF DRG SECTIONS REVEALED THAT THE NUMBER OF MECP2-POSITIVE NEURONS WAS UP-REGULATED BY TNBS TREATMENT, REACHING THREE-FOLD INCREASE AT 2 H POST-TNBS, AND EIGHT-FOLD INCREASE AT 6 H POST-TNBS (P </= 0.05 TO CONTROL). THESE DATA SHOWED EARLY CHANGES IN MECP2 AND CREB EXPRESSION IN THE DORSAL HORN OF THE SPINAL CORD AND SENSORY GANGLIA AFTER COLONIC INFLAMMATION, SUGGESTING A POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTION MECP2 AND CREB SIGNALING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF VISCERAL HYPERALGESIA AND PELVIC PAIN FOLLOWING PERIPHERAL INFLAMMATION.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
9 3368  39 HISTONE METHYLTRANSFERASE G9A DIMINISHES EXPRESSION OF CANNABINOID CB(1) RECEPTORS IN PRIMARY SENSORY NEURONS IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN. TYPE 1 CANNABINOID RECEPTORS (CB(1)RS) ARE EXPRESSED IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE ANALGESIC EFFECT OF CANNABINOIDS. HOWEVER, THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISM REGULATING THE EXPRESSION OF CB(1)RS IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN IS UNKNOWN. G9A (ENCODED BY THE EHMT2 GENE), A HISTONE 3 AT LYSINE 9 METHYLTRANSFERASE, IS A KEY CHROMATIN REGULATOR RESPONSIBLE FOR GENE SILENCING. IN THIS STUDY, WE DETERMINED G9A'S ROLE IN REGULATING CB(1)R EXPRESSION IN THE DRG AND IN CB(1)R-MEDIATED ANALGESIC EFFECTS IN AN ANIMAL MODEL OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. WE SHOW THAT NERVE INJURY PROFOUNDLY REDUCED MRNA LEVELS OF CB(1)RS BUT INCREASED THE EXPRESSION OF CB(2) RECEPTORS IN THE RAT DRG. CHIP RESULTS INDICATED INCREASED ENRICHMENT OF HISTONE 3 AT LYSINE 9 DIMETHYLATION, A G9A-CATALYZED REPRESSIVE HISTONE MARK, AT THE PROMOTER REGIONS OF THE CB(1)R GENES. G9A INHIBITION IN NERVE-INJURED RATS NOT ONLY UP-REGULATED THE CB(1)R EXPRESSION LEVEL IN THE DRG BUT ALSO POTENTIATED THE ANALGESIC EFFECT OF A CB(1)R AGONIST ON NERVE INJURY-INDUCED PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY. FURTHERMORE, IN MICE LACKING EHMT2 IN DRG NEURONS, NERVE INJURY FAILED TO REDUCE CB(1)R EXPRESSION IN THE DRG AND TO DECREASE THE ANALGESIC EFFECT OF THE CB(1)R AGONIST. MOREOVER, NERVE INJURY DIMINISHED THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF THE CB(1)R AGONIST ON SYNAPTIC GLUTAMATE RELEASE FROM PRIMARY AFFERENT NERVES TO SPINAL CORD DORSAL HORN NEURONS IN WT MICE BUT NOT IN MICE LACKING EHMT2 IN DRG NEURONS. OUR FINDINGS REVEAL THAT NERVE INJURY DIMINISHES THE ANALGESIC EFFECT OF CB(1)R AGONISTS THROUGH G9A-MEDIATED CB(1)R DOWN-REGULATION IN PRIMARY SENSORY NEURONS.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
10 2203  25 EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF SPINAL MIR-219 EXPRESSION REGULATES CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PAIN BY TARGETING CAMKIIGAMMA. EMERGING EVIDENCE HAS SHOWN THAT MIRNA-MEDIATED GENE EXPRESSION MODULATION CONTRIBUTES TO CHRONIC PAIN, BUT ITS FUNCTIONAL REGULATORY MECHANISM REMAINS UNKNOWN. HERE, WE FOUND THAT COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA)-INDUCED CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PAIN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED MIRNA-219 (MIR-219) EXPRESSION IN MICE SPINAL NEURONS. FURTHERMORE, THE EXPRESSION OF SPINAL CAMKIIGAMMA, AN EXPERIMENTALLY VALIDATED TARGET OF MIR-219, WAS INCREASED IN CFA MICE. OVEREXPRESSION OF SPINAL MIR-219 PREVENTED AND REVERSED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA AND SPINAL NEURONAL SENSITIZATION INDUCED BY CFA. CONCURRENTLY, INCREASED EXPRESSION OF SPINAL CAMKIIGAMMA WAS REVERSED BY MIR-219 OVEREXPRESSION. DOWNREGULATION OF SPINAL MIR-219 IN NAIVE MICE INDUCED PAIN-RESPONSIVE BEHAVIORS AND INCREASED P-NMDAR1 EXPRESSION, WHICH COULD BE INHIBITED BY KNOCKDOWN OF CAMKIIGAMMA. BISULFITE SEQUENCING SHOWED THAT CFA INDUCED THE HYPERMETHYLATION OF CPG ISLANDS IN THE MIR-219 PROMOTER. TREATMENT WITH DEMETHYLATION AGENT 5'-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE MARKEDLY ATTENUATED PAIN BEHAVIOR AND SPINAL NEURONAL SENSITIZATION, WHICH WAS ACCOMPANIED WITH THE INCREASE OF SPINAL MIR-219 AND DECREASE OF CAMKIIGAMMA EXPRESSION. TOGETHER, WE CONCLUDE THAT METHYLATION-MEDIATED EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF SPINAL MIR-219 EXPRESSION REGULATES CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PAIN BY TARGETING CAMKIIGAMMA.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
11 6429  34 THE UPREGULATION OF NLRP3 INFLAMMASOME IN DORSAL ROOT GANGLION BY TEN-ELEVEN TRANSLOCATION METHYLCYTOSINE DIOXYGENASE 2 (TET2) CONTRIBUTED TO DIABETIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN IN MICE. BACKGROUND: THE NUCLEOTIDE OLIGOMERIZATION DOMAIN (NOD)-LIKE RECEPTOR FAMILY PYRIN DOMAIN CONTAINING 3 (NLRP3) IN DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) CONTRIBUTES TO PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY IN MULTIPLE NEUROPATHIC PAIN MODELS, BUT THE FUNCTION OF THE NLRP3 IN DIABETIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN (DNP) AND THE REGULATION MECHANISM ARE STILL LARGELY UNKNOWN. EPIGENETIC REGULATION PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN THE CONTROLLING OF GENE EXPRESSION. TEN-ELEVEN TRANSLOCATION METHYLCYTOSINE DIOXYGENASE 2 (TET2) IS A DNA DEMETHYLASE THAT CONTRIBUTES TO TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION. TET2 IS ALSO INVOLVED IN HIGH GLUCOSE (HG)-INDUCED PATHOLOGY. METHODS: DNP WAS INDUCED IN MICE VIA THE INTRAPERITONEAL INJECTION OF STREPTOZOTOCIN (STZ) FOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS AND THE MECHANICAL THRESHOLD WAS EVALUATED IN STZ-DIABETIC MICE BY USING VON FREY HAIRS. THE EXPRESSION LEVEL OF THE NLRP3 PATHWAY AND TET2 IN DRG WERE DETERMINED THROUGH MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EXPERIMENTS. THE REGULATION OF THE NLRP3 PATHWAY BY TET2 WAS EXAMINED IN IN VITRO AND IN VIVO CONDITIONS. RESULTS: IN THE PRESENT RESEARCH, WE FIRST ESTABLISHED THE DNP MODEL AND FOUND THAT NLRP3 PATHWAY WAS ACTIVATED IN DRG. THE TREATMENT OF NLRP3 INHIBITOR MCC950 ALLEVIATED THE MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA OF DNP MICE. THEN WE REVEALED THAT IN STZ-DIABETIC MICE DRG, THE GENOMIC DNA WAS DEMETHYLATED, AND THE EXPRESSION OF DNA DEMETHYLASE TET2 WAS INCREASED EVIDENTLY. USING RNA-SEQUENCING ANALYSIS, WE FOUND THAT THE EXPRESSION OF TXNIP, A GENE THAT ENCODES A THIOREDOXIN-INTERACTING PROTEIN (TXNIP) WHICH MEDIATES NLRP3 ACTIVATION, WAS ELEVATED IN THE DRG AFTER STZ TREATMENT. IN ADDITION, KNOCKING DOWN OF TET2 EXPRESSION IN DRG USING TET2-SIRNA SUPPRESSED THE MRNA EXPRESSION OF TXNIP AND SUBSEQUENTLY INHIBITED THE EXPRESSION/ACTIVATION OF NLRP3 INFLAMMASOME IN VITRO AND IN VIVO AS WELL AS RELIEVED THE PAIN SENSITIVITY OF DNP ANIMALS. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT THE UPREGULATION OF THE TXNIP/NLRP3 PATHWAY BY TET2 IN DRG WAS INVOLVED IN THE PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY OF THE DNP MODEL.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
12 5401  37 REDUCTION OF SIRT1 EPIGENETICALLY UPREGULATES NALP1 EXPRESSION AND CONTRIBUTES TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN INDUCED BY CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC DRUG BORTEZOMIB. BACKGROUND: BORTEZOMIB IS A FREQUENTLY USED CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC DRUG FOR THE TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE MYELOMA AND OTHER NONSOLID MALIGNANCIES. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT BORTEZOMIB-INDUCED PERSISTENT PAIN SERVES AS THE MOST FREQUENT REASON FOR TREATMENT DISCONTINUATION. METHODS: THE VON FREY TEST WAS PERFORMED TO EVALUATE NEUROPATHIC PAIN BEHAVIOR, AND REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION, CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION, WESTERN BLOT, IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY, AND SMALL INTERFERING RNA WERE PERFORMED TO EXPLORE THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS IN ADULT MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS. RESULTS: WE FOUND THAT APPLICATION OF BORTEZOMIB SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE EXPRESSION OF NALP1 PROTEIN AND MRNA LEVELS IN SPINAL DORSAL HORN NEURONS, AND INTRATHECAL APPLICATION OF NALP1 SIRNA ATTENUATED THE BORTEZOMIB-INDUCED MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA. IN ADDITION, BORTEZOMIB ALSO DECREASED THE SIRT1 EXPRESSION, AND TREATMENT WITH SIRT1 ACTIVATOR RESVERATROL AMELIORATED THE NALP1 UPREGULATION AND MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA INDUCED BY BORTEZOMIB. MEANWHILE, KNOCKDOWN OF SIRT1 USING THE SIRT1 SIRNA INDUCED THE NALP1 UPREGULATION IN DORSAL HORN AND MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA IN NORMAL ANIMAL. THESE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT REDUCTION OF SIRT1 INDUCED THE NALP1 UPREGULATION IN DORSAL HORN NEURONS, AND PARTICIPATED IN BORTEZOMIB-INDUCED MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA. IMPORTANTLY, WE FOUND THAT THE BINDING OF SIRT1 AND NALP1 PROMOTER REGION DID NOT CHANGE BEFORE AND AFTER BORTEZOMIB TREATMENT, BUT SIRT1 DOWNREGULATION INCREASED P-STAT3 EXPRESSION. FURTHERMORE, THE ACTIVATION OF STAT3 ENHANCED THE RECRUITMENT OF P-STAT3 TO THE NALP1 GENE PROMOTER, WHICH INCREASED THE ACETYLATION OF HISTONE H3 AND H4 IN NALP1 PROMOTER REGIONS AND EPIGENETICALLY UPREGULATED NALP1 EXPRESSION IN THE RODENTS WITH BORTEZOMIB TREATMENT. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS SUGGESTED A NEW EPIGENETIC MECHANISM FOR NALP1 UPREGULATION INVOLVING SIRT1 REDUCTION AND SUBSEQUENT STAT3-MEDIATED HISTONE HYPERACETYLATION IN NALP1 PROMOTER REGION IN DORSAL HORN NEURONS, WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE BORTEZOMIB-INDUCED MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
13 4098  33 MBD1 CONTRIBUTES TO THE GENESIS OF ACUTE PAIN AND NEUROPATHIC PAIN BY EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF OPRM1 AND KCNA2 GENES IN PRIMARY SENSORY NEURONS. THE TRANSMISSION OF NORMAL SENSORY AND/OR ACUTE NOXIOUS INFORMATION REQUIRES INTACT EXPRESSION OF PAIN-ASSOCIATED GENES WITHIN THE PAIN PATHWAYS OF NERVOUS SYSTEM. EXPRESSIONAL CHANGES OF THESE GENES AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY ARE ALSO CRITICAL FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN INDUCTION AND MAINTENANCE. METHYL-CPG-BINDING DOMAIN PROTEIN 1 (MBD1), AN EPIGENETIC REPRESSOR, REGULATES GENE TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY. WE REPORT HERE THAT MBD1 IN THE PRIMARY SENSORY NEURONS OF DRG IS CRITICAL FOR THE GENESIS OF ACUTE PAIN AND NEUROPATHIC PAIN AS DRG MBD1-DEFICIENT MICE EXHIBIT THE REDUCED RESPONSES TO ACUTE MECHANICAL, HEAT, COLD, AND CAPSAICIN STIMULI AND THE BLUNTED NERVE INJURY-INDUCED PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITIES. FURTHERMORE, DRG OVEREXPRESSION OF MBD1 LEADS TO SPONTANEOUS PAIN AND EVOKED PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITIES IN THE WT MICE AND RESTORES ACUTE PAIN SENSITIVITIES IN THE MBD1-DEFICIENT MICE. MECHANISTICALLY, MDB1 REPRESSES OPRM1 AND KCNA2 GENE EXPRESSION BY RECRUITING DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE DNMT3A INTO THESE TWO GENE PROMOTERS IN THE DRG NEURONS. DRG MBD1 IS LIKELY A KEY PLAYER UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF ACUTE PAIN AND NEUROPATHIC PAIN.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE REVEALED THAT THE MICE WITH DEFICIENCY OF METHYL-CPG-BINDING DOMAIN PROTEIN 1 (MBD1), AN EPIGENETIC REPRESSOR, IN THE DRG DISPLAYED THE REDUCED RESPONSES TO ACUTE NOXIOUS STIMULI AND THE BLUNTED NEUROPATHIC PAIN. WE ALSO SHOWED THAT DRG OVEREXPRESSION OF MBD1 PRODUCED THE HYPERSENSITIVITIES TO NOXIOUS STIMULI IN THE WT MICE AND RESCUED ACUTE PAIN SENSITIVITIES IN THE MBD1-DEFICIENT MICE. WE HAVE ALSO PROVIDED THE EVIDENCE THAT MDB1 REPRESSES OPRM1 AND KCNA2 GENE EXPRESSION BY RECRUITING DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE DNMT3A INTO THESE TWO GENE PROMOTERS IN THE DRG NEURONS. DRG MBD1 MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE GENESIS OF ACUTE PAIN AND NEUROPATHIC PAIN LIKELY THROUGH REGULATING DNMT3A-CONTROLLED OPRM1 AND KCNA2 GENE EXPRESSION IN THE DRG NEURONS.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
14 4919  35 PANNEXIN-1 UP-REGULATION IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION CONTRIBUTES TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN DEVELOPMENT. PANNEXIN-1 (PANX1) IS A LARGE-PORE MEMBRANE CHANNEL INVOLVED IN THE RELEASE OF ATP AND OTHER SIGNALING MEDIATORS. LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EXPRESSION AND FUNCTIONAL ROLE OF PANX1 IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN. IN THIS STUDY, WE DETERMINED THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISM INVOLVED IN INCREASED PANX1 EXPRESSION IN THE DRG AFTER NERVE INJURY. SPINAL NERVE LIGATION IN RATS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS OF PANX1 IN THE DRG BUT NOT IN THE SPINAL CORD. IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICAL LABELING SHOWED THAT PANX1 WAS PRIMARILY EXPRESSED IN A SUBSET OF MEDIUM AND LARGE DRG NEURONS IN CONTROL RATS AND THAT NERVE INJURY MARKEDLY INCREASED THE NUMBER OF PANX1-IMMUNOREACTIVE DRG NEURONS. NERVE INJURY SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE ENRICHMENT OF TWO ACTIVATING HISTONE MARKS (H3K4ME2 AND H3K9AC) AND DECREASED THE OCCUPANCY OF TWO REPRESSIVE HISTONE MARKS (H3K9ME2 AND H3K27ME3) AROUND THE PROMOTER REGION OF PANX1 IN THE DRG. HOWEVER, NERVE INJURY HAD NO EFFECT ON THE DNA METHYLATION LEVEL AROUND THE PANX1 PROMOTER IN THE DRG. FURTHERMORE, INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF THE PANX1 BLOCKERS OR PANX1-SPECIFIC SIRNA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY INDUCED BY NERVE INJURY. IN ADDITION, SIRNA KNOCKDOWN OF PANX1 EXPRESSION IN A DRG CELL LINE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED CASPASE-1 RELEASE INDUCED BY NEURONAL DEPOLARIZATION. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT NERVE INJURY INCREASES PANX1 EXPRESSION LEVELS IN THE DRG THROUGH ALTERED HISTONE MODIFICATIONS. PANX1 UP-REGULATION CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN AND STIMULATION OF INFLAMMASOME SIGNALING.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
15  885  33 CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY-INDUCED CHANGES IN CIRCULAR RNA EXPRESSION PROFILING OF THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION IN A RAT MODEL OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. BACKGROUND: THE PATHOGENESIS OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN (NP) HAS NOT BEEN FULLY ELUCIDATED. GENE CHANGES IN DORSAL ROOT GANGLIA (DRG) MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NP. CIRCULAR RNAS (CIRCRNAS) ARE A CLASS OF ENDOGENOUS NONCODING RNAS THAT FORM COVALENTLY CLOSED LOOP STRUCTURES AND ARE CRUCIAL FOR GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT CIRCRNA CHANGES IN DRG NEURONS AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY. METHODS: A SCIATIC NERVE CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY (CCI) MODEL WAS ESTABLISHED TO INDUCE NEUROPATHIC PAIN. WE PERFORMED GENOME-WIDE CIRCRNA ANALYSIS OF FOUR PAIRED DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) SAMPLES (L4-L5) FROM CCI AND NEGATIVE CONTROL (NC) RATS USING NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY. THE DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED CIRCRNAS (DECIRCRNAS) WERE IDENTIFIED BY DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION ANALYSIS, AND THE EXPRESSION PROFILE OF CIRCRNAS WAS VALIDATED BY QUANTITATIVE PCR. GENE ONTOLOGY AND KYOTO ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GENES AND GENOMES ANALYSES WERE PERFORMED TO PREDICT THE FUNCTION OF DECIRCRNAS. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 374 DECIRCRNAS WERE IDENTIFIED BETWEEN CCI AND NC RATS USING CIRCRNA HIGH-THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING. AMONG THEM, 290 WERE UPREGULATED AND 84 WERE DOWNREGULATED IN THE CCI GROUP. THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF NINE DECIRCRNAS WERE VALIDATED BY QPCR. FUNCTIONAL ANNOTATION ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE DECIRCRNAS WERE MAINLY ENRICHED IN PATHWAYS AND FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING 'DOPAMINERGIC SYNAPSE,' 'RENIN SECRETION,' 'MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE SIGNALING PATHWAY,' AND 'NEUROGENESIS.' COMPETING ENDOGENOUS RNA ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE TOP 50 CIRCRNAS EXHIBITED INTERACTIONS WITH FOUR PAIN-RELATED MICRORNAS (MIRNAS). CIRC:CHR2:33950934-33955969 WAS THE LARGEST NODE IN THE CIRCRNA-MIRNA INTERACTION NETWORK. CONCLUSIONS: PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY-INDUCED NEUROPATHIC PAIN LED TO CHANGES IN THE COMPREHENSIVE EXPRESSION PROFILE OF CIRCRNAS IN THE DRG OF RATS. DECIRCRNAS MAY ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING NEUROPATHIC PAIN.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
16 2785  33 EZH2 REGULATES SPINAL NEUROINFLAMMATION IN RATS WITH NEUROPATHIC PAIN. ALTERATION IN GENE EXPRESSION ALONG THE PAIN SIGNALING PATHWAY IS A KEY MECHANISM CONTRIBUTING TO THE GENESIS OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. ACCUMULATING STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT EPIGENETIC REGULATION PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN NOCICEPTIVE PROCESS IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN. IN THIS PRESENT STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED THE ROLE OF ENHANCER OF ZESTE HOMOLOG-2 (EZH2), A SUBUNIT OF THE POLYCOMB REPRESSIVE COMPLEX 2, IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN IN THE GENESIS OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN IN RATS INDUCED BY PARTIAL SCIATIC NERVE LIGATION. EZH2 IS A HISTONE METHYLTRANSFERASE, WHICH CATALYZES THE METHYLATION OF HISTONE H3 ON K27 (H3K27), RESULTING IN GENE SILENCING. WE FOUND THAT LEVELS OF EZH2 AND TRI-METHYLATED H3K27 (H3K27TM) IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN WERE INCREASED IN RATS WITH NEUROPATHIC PAIN ON DAY 3 AND DAY 10 POST NERVE INJURIES. EZH2 WAS PREDOMINANTLY EXPRESSED IN NEURONS IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS. THE NUMBER OF NEURONS WITH EZH2 EXPRESSION WAS INCREASED AFTER NERVE INJURY. MORE STRIKINGLY, NERVE INJURY DRASTICALLY INCREASED THE NUMBER OF MICROGLIA WITH EZH2 EXPRESSION BY MORE THAN SEVENFOLD. INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF THE EZH2 INHIBITOR ATTENUATED THE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF MECHANICAL AND THERMAL HYPERALGESIA IN RATS WITH NERVE INJURY. SUCH ANALGESIC EFFECTS WERE CONCURRENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE REDUCED LEVELS OF EZH2, H3K27TM, IBA1, GFAP, TNF-ALPHA, IL-1BETA, AND MCP-1 IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN IN RATS WITH NERVE INJURY. OUR RESULTS HIGHLY SUGGEST THAT TARGETING THE EZH2 SIGNALING PATHWAY COULD BE AN EFFECTIVE APPROACH FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
17 2884  38 G9A IS ESSENTIAL FOR EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF K(+) CHANNEL GENES IN ACUTE-TO-CHRONIC PAIN TRANSITION. NEUROPATHIC PAIN IS A DEBILITATING CLINICAL PROBLEM AND DIFFICULT TO TREAT. NERVE INJURY CAUSES A LONG-LASTING REDUCTION IN K(+) CHANNEL EXPRESSION IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG), BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS INVOLVED. WE FOUND THAT NERVE INJURY INCREASED DIMETHYLATION OF LYS9 ON HISTONE H3 (H3K9ME2) AT KCNA4, KCND2, KCNQ2 AND KCNMA1 PROMOTERS BUT DID NOT AFFECT LEVELS OF DNA METHYLATION ON THESE GENES IN DRGS. NERVE INJURY INCREASED ACTIVITY OF EUCHROMATIC HISTONE-LYSINE N-METHYLTRANSFERASE-2 (G9A), HISTONE DEACETYLASES AND ENHANCER OF ZESTE HOMOLOG-2 (EZH2), BUT ONLY G9A INHIBITION CONSISTENTLY RESTORED K(+) CHANNEL EXPRESSION. SELECTIVE KNOCKOUT OF THE GENE ENCODING G9A IN DRG NEURONS COMPLETELY BLOCKED K(+) CHANNEL SILENCING AND CHRONIC PAIN DEVELOPMENT AFTER NERVE INJURY. REMARKABLY, RNA SEQUENCING ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT G9A INHIBITION NOT ONLY REACTIVATED 40 OF 42 SILENCED GENES ASSOCIATED WITH K(+) CHANNELS BUT ALSO NORMALIZED 638 GENES DOWN- OR UPREGULATED BY NERVE INJURY. THUS G9A HAS A DOMINANT FUNCTION IN TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION OF K(+) CHANNELS AND IN ACUTE-TO-CHRONIC PAIN TRANSITION AFTER NERVE INJURY.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
18 4861  27 ORGANIC ANION TRANSPORTER 1 IS AN HDAC4-REGULATED MEDIATOR OF NOCICEPTIVE HYPERSENSITIVITY IN MICE. PERSISTENT PAIN IS SUSTAINED BY MALADAPTIVE CHANGES IN GENE TRANSCRIPTION RESULTING IN ALTERED FUNCTION OF THE RELEVANT CIRCUITS; THERAPIES ARE STILL UNSATISFACTORY. THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS AND AFFECTED GENES LINKING NOCICEPTIVE ACTIVITY TO TRANSCRIPTIONAL CHANGES AND PATHOLOGICAL SENSITIVITY ARE UNCLEAR. HERE, WE FOUND THAT, AMONG SEVERAL HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS), SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY SPECIFICALLY AFFECTS HDAC4 IN MURINE SPINAL CORD DORSAL HORN NEURONS. NOXIOUS STIMULI THAT INDUCE LONG-LASTING INFLAMMATORY HYPERSENSITIVITY CAUSE NUCLEAR EXPORT AND INACTIVATION OF HDAC4. THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFLAMMATION-ASSOCIATED MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY, BUT NEITHER ACUTE NOR BASAL SENSITIVITY, IS IMPAIRED BY THE EXPRESSION OF A CONSTITUTIVELY NUCLEAR LOCALIZED HDAC4 MUTANT. NEXT GENERATION RNA-SEQUENCING REVEALED AN HDAC4-REGULATED GENE PROGRAM COMPRISING MEDIATORS OF SENSITIZATION INCLUDING THE ORGANIC ANION TRANSPORTER OAT1, KNOWN FOR ITS RENAL TRANSPORT FUNCTION. USING PHARMACOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR TOOLS TO MODULATE OAT1 ACTIVITY OR EXPRESSION, WE CAUSALLY LINK OAT1 TO PERSISTENT INFLAMMATORY HYPERSENSITIVITY IN MICE. THUS, HDAC4 IS A KEY EPIGENETIC REGULATOR THAT TRANSLATES NOCICEPTIVE ACTIVITY INTO SENSITIZATION BY REGULATING OAT1, WHICH IS A POTENTIAL TARGET FOR PAIN-RELIEVING THERAPIES.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
19  804  26 CENTRAL ENDOTHELIN-1 CONFERS ANALGESIA BY TRIGGERING SPINAL NEURONAL HISTONE DEACETYLASE 5 (HDAC5) NUCLEAR EXCLUSION IN PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHIC PAIN IN MICE. THE RATIONALE OF SPINAL ADMINISTRATION OF ENDOTHELIN-1(ET-1) MEDIATED ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE EFFECT HAS NOT BEEN ELUCIDATED. ET-1 IS REPORTED TO PROMOTE NUCLEAR EFFLUXION OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE 5 (HDAC5) IN MYOCYTES, AND SPINAL HDAC5 IS IMPLICATED IN MODULATION OF PAIN PROCESSING. IN THIS STUDY, WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER CENTRAL ET-1 PLAYS AN ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE ROLE BY FACILITATING SPINAL HDAC5 NUCLEAR SHUTTLING UNDER NEUROPATHIC PAIN. HERE, WE DEMONSTRATE THAT UPREGULATING SPINAL ET-1 ATTENUATED THE NOCICEPTION INDUCED BY PARTIAL SCIATIC NERVE LIGATION SURGERY AND THIS ANALGESIC EFFECT MEDIATED BY ET-1 WAS ATTENUATED BY INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF ENDOTHELIN A RECEPTOR SELECTIVE INHIBITOR (BQ123) OR BY BLOCKING THE EXPORTATION OF NUCLEAR HDAC5 BY ADENO-ASSOCIATED VIRUSES TARGETING NEURONAL HDAC5 (AVV-HDAC5 S259/498A MUTANT). NOTABLY, ET-1 ADMINISTRATION INCREASED SPINAL GLUTAMATE ACID DECARBOXYLASES (GAD65/67) EXPRESSION VIA INITIATING HDAC5 NUCLEAR EXPORTATION AND INCREASED THE ACETYLATION OF HISTONE 3 AT LYSINE 9 (ACETYL-H3K9) IN THE PROMOTOR REGIONS OF SPINAL GAD1 AND GAD2 GENES. THIS WAS REVERSED BY BLOCKING ENDOTHELIN A RECEPTOR FUNCTION OR BY INHIBITING THE SPINAL NEURONAL NUCLEAR EXPORTATION OF HDAC5. THEREFORE, INDUCING SPINAL GABAERGIC NEURONAL HDAC5 NUCLEAR EXPORTATION MAY BE A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACH FOR MANAGING NEUROPATHIC PAIN. PERSPECTIVE: NEUROPATHIC PAIN IS INTRACTABLE IN A CLINICAL SETTING, AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION IS CONSIDERED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS PROCESSING. CHARACTERIZING THE ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF ET-1 AND INVESTIGATING THE ASSOCIATED EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN ANIMAL MODELS MAY LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES AND TARGETS FOR TREATING NEUROPATHIC PAIN.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
20  710  33 C-TERMINAL DOMAIN SMALL PHOSPHATASE 1 (CTDSP1) REGULATES GROWTH FACTOR EXPRESSION AND AXONAL REGENERATION IN PERIPHERAL NERVE TISSUE. PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY (PNI) REPRESENTS A MAJOR CLINICAL AND ECONOMIC BURDEN. DESPITE THE ABILITY OF PERIPHERAL NEURONS TO REGENERATE THEIR AXONS AFTER AN INJURY, PATIENTS ARE OFTEN LEFT WITH MOTOR AND/OR SENSORY DISABILITY AND MAY DEVELOP CHRONIC PAIN. SUCCESSFUL REGENERATION AND TARGET ORGAN REINNERVATION REQUIRE COMPREHENSIVE TRANSCRIPTIONAL CHANGES IN BOTH INJURED NEURONS AND SUPPORT CELLS LOCATED AT THE SITE OF INJURY. THE EXPRESSION OF MOST OF THE GENES REQUIRED FOR AXON GROWTH AND GUIDANCE AND FOR SYNAPSIS FORMATION IS REPRESSED BY A SINGLE MASTER TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATOR, THE REPRESSOR ELEMENT 1 SILENCING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR (REST). SUSTAINED INCREASE OF REST LEVELS AFTER INJURY INHIBITS AXON REGENERATION AND LEADS TO CHRONIC PAIN. AS TARGETING OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IS CHALLENGING, WE TESTED WHETHER MODULATION OF REST ACTIVITY COULD BE ACHIEVED THROUGH KNOCKDOWN OF CARBOXY-TERMINAL DOMAIN SMALL PHOSPHATASE 1 (CTDSP1), THE ENZYME THAT STABILIZES REST BY PREVENTING ITS TARGETING TO THE PROTEASOME. TO TEST WHETHER KNOCKDOWN OF CTDSP1 PROMOTES NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR EXPRESSION IN BOTH SUPPORT CELLS LOCATED AT THE SITE OF INJURY AND IN PERIPHERAL NEURONS, WE TRANSFECTED MESENCHYMAL PROGENITOR CELLS (MPCS), A TYPE OF SUPPORT CELLS THAT ARE PRESENT AT HIGH CONCENTRATIONS AT THE SITE OF INJURY, AND DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) NEURONS WITH REST OR CTDSP1 SPECIFIC SIRNA. WE QUANTIFIED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR EXPRESSION BY RT-QPCR AND WESTERN BLOT, AND BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) RELEASE IN THE CELL CULTURE MEDIUM BY ELISA, AND WE MEASURED NEURITE OUTGROWTH OF DRG NEURONS IN CULTURE. OUR RESULTS SHOW THAT CTDSP1 KNOCKDOWN PROMOTES NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR EXPRESSION IN BOTH DRG NEURONS AND THE SUPPORT CELLS MPCS, AND PROMOTES DRG NEURON REGENERATION. THERAPEUTICS TARGETING CTDSP1 ACTIVITY MAY, THEREFORE, REPRESENT A NOVEL EPIGENETIC STRATEGY TO PROMOTE PERIPHERAL NERVE REGENERATION AFTER PNI BY PROMOTING THE REGENERATIVE PROGRAM REPRESSED BY INJURY-INDUCED INCREASED LEVELS OF REST IN BOTH NEURONS AND SUPPORT CELLS.	2021