1   543 146 ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH HYPERMETHYLATION IN HUMAN LEFT ATRIUM, AND TREATMENT WITH DECITABINE REDUCES ATRIAL TACHYARRHYTHMIAS IN SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS. ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (AF) IS THE MOST COMMON CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA. AS THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE PATHOLOGY ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN, THIS CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA REMAINS DIFFICULT TO TREAT. TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC MOLECULAR ACTORS INVOLVED IN AF, WE HAVE PERFORMED A TRANSCRIPTOMIC ANALYSIS ON LEFT ATRIUM (LA) FROM PATIENTS WITH VALVULAR HEART DISEASE WITH OR WITHOUT AF. WE SHOWED THAT 1627 GENES HAD ALTERED BASAL EXPRESSION LEVEL IN LA TISSUE OF AF PATIENTS COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. THE SIGNIFICANTLY ENRICHED GENE ONTOLOGY BIOLOGICAL PROCESS "ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE MORPHOGENESIS" CONTAINED THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF GENES IN LINE WITH CHANGES IN STRUCTURE THAT OCCUR WHEN THE HUMAN HEART REMODELS FOLLOWING AF DEVELOPMENT (IE, LA DILATATION AND INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS). WE THEN FOCUSED THE STUDY ON PITX2 (PAIRED-LIKE HOMEODOMAIN 2), BEING THE MOST ALTERED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR IN LA FROM AF PATIENTS AND FROM WHICH COMPELLING EVIDENCE HAVE INDICATED THAT ITS REDUCED EXPRESSION CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A MARKER FOR THE DISEASE. IN ADDITION, ITS EXPRESSION WAS INVERSELY CORRELATED WITH LA SIZE. WE DEMONSTRATED THAT AF IS ASSOCIATED WITH PITX2 PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION BOTH IN HUMANS AND ARRHYTHMIC AGING SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS. CHRONIC ADMINISTRATION OF A DNA METHYLATION INHIBITOR (IE, 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCITIDINE) IMPROVED ECG ARRHYTHMIC PROFILES AND SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE ACTIVITIES AND REDUCED FIBROSIS IN THE LEFT VENTRICLE OF SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE DATA SUPPORT THE NOTION THAT AF IS ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN LA AND PROVIDE A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT THAT HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE TREATMENT OF ATRIAL ARRHYTHMIAS.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
2  5006  42 PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY IS ACCOMPANIED BY CHRONIC TRANSCRIPTOME-WIDE CHANGES IN THE MOUSE PREFRONTAL CORTEX. BACKGROUND: PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY CAN HAVE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES INCLUDING PAIN-RELATED MANIFESTATIONS, SUCH AS HYPERSENSITIVITY TO CUTANEOUS STIMULI, AS WELL AS AFFECTIVE AND COGNITIVE DISTURBANCES, SUGGESTING THE INVOLVEMENT OF SUPRASPINAL MECHANISMS. CHANGES IN BRAIN STRUCTURE AND CORTICAL FUNCTION ASSOCIATED WITH MANY CHRONIC PAIN CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX (PFC). THE PFC IS IMPLICATED IN PAIN-RELATED CO-MORBIDITIES SUCH AS DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND IMPAIRED EMOTIONAL DECISION-MAKING ABILITY. WE RECENTLY REPORTED THAT THIS REGION IS SUBJECT TO SIGNIFICANT EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING FOLLOWING PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY, AND NORMALIZATION OF PAIN-RELATED STRUCTURAL, FUNCTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC ABNORMALITIES IN THE PFC ARE ALL ASSOCIATED WITH EFFECTIVE PAIN REDUCTION. IN THIS STUDY, WE USED THE SPARED NERVE INJURY (SNI) MODEL OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY TRIGGERS PERSISTENT LONG-LASTING CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION IN THE PFC, WHICH ALTER FUNCTIONAL GENE NETWORKS, THUS PROVIDING A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION FOR CHRONIC PAIN ASSOCIATED BEHAVIORS. RESULTS: SNI OR SHAM SURGERY WHERE PERFORMED IN MALE CD1 MICE AT THREE MONTHS OF AGE. SIX MONTHS AFTER INJURY, WE PERFORMED TRANSCRIPTOME-WIDE SEQUENCING (RNASEQ), WHICH REVEALED 1147 DIFFERENTIALLY REGULATED TRANSCRIPTS IN THE PFC IN NERVE-INJURED VS. CONTROL MICE. CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION OCCURRED ACROSS A NUMBER OF FUNCTIONAL GENE CLUSTERS ENCODING CARDINAL BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AS REVEALED BY INGENUITY PATHWAY ANALYSIS. SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES INCLUDED NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE, SKELETAL MUSCULAR DISORDERS, BEHAVIOR, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS. SEVERAL OF THE CHANGES DETECTED BY RNASEQ WERE VALIDATED BY RT-QPCR AND INCLUDED TRANSCRIPTS WITH KNOWN ROLES IN CHRONIC PAIN AND/OR NEURONAL PLASTICITY INCLUDING THE NMDA RECEPTOR (GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR, IONOTROPIC, NMDA; GRIN1), NEURITE OUTGROWTH (ROUNDABOUT 3; ROBO3), GLIOSIS (GLIAL FIBRILLARY ACIDIC PROTEIN; GFAP), VESICULAR RELEASE (SYNAPTOTAGMIN 2; SYT2), AND NEURONAL EXCITABILITY (VOLTAGE-GATED SODIUM CHANNEL, TYPE I; SCN1A). CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY USED AN UNBIASED APPROACH TO DOCUMENT LONG-TERM ALTERATIONS IN GENE EXPRESSION IN THE BRAIN FOLLOWING PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY. WE PROPOSE THAT THESE CHANGES ARE MAINTAINED AS A MEMORY OF AN INSULT THAT IS TEMPORALLY AND SPATIALLY DISTANT FROM THE INITIAL INJURY.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
3   531  44 ASTROCYTE REACTIVITY FOLLOWING BLAST EXPOSURE INVOLVES ABERRANT HISTONE ACETYLATION. BLAST INDUCED NEUROTRAUMA (BINT) IS A PREVALENT INJURY WITHIN MILITARY AND CIVILIAN POPULATIONS. THE INJURY IS CHARACTERIZED BY PERSISTENT INFLAMMATION AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL WHICH MANIFESTS AS A MULTITUDE OF COGNITIVE AND FUNCTIONAL IMPAIRMENTS. EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF TRANSCRIPTION OFFERS AN IMPORTANT CONTROL MECHANISM FOR GENE EXPRESSION AND CELLULAR FUNCTION WHICH MAY UNDERLIE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND RESULT IN NEURODEGENERATION. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT ALTERED HISTONE ACETYLATION PATTERNS MAY BE INVOLVED IN BLAST INDUCED INFLAMMATION AND THE CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF GLIAL CELLS. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ELUCIDATE CHANGES TO HISTONE ACETYLATION OCCURRING FOLLOWING INJURY AND THE ROLES THESE CHANGES MAY HAVE WITHIN THE PATHOLOGY. SPRAGUE DAWLEY RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO EITHER A 10 OR 17 PSI BLAST OVERPRESSURE WITHIN AN ADVANCED BLAST SIMULATOR (ABS). SHAM ANIMALS UNDERWENT THE SAME PROCEDURES WITHOUT BLAST EXPOSURE. MEMORY IMPAIRMENTS WERE MEASURED USING THE NOVEL OBJECT RECOGNITION (NOR) TEST AT 2 AND 7 DAYS POST-INJURY. TISSUES WERE COLLECTED AT 7 DAYS FOR WESTERN BLOT AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY (IHC) ANALYSIS. SHAM ANIMALS SHOWED INTACT MEMORY AT EACH TIME POINT. THE NOVEL OBJECT DISCRIMINATION DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN TWO AND 7 DAYS FOR EACH INJURY GROUP (P < 0.05). THIS IS INDICATIVE OF THE ONSET OF MEMORY IMPAIRMENT. WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS SHOWED GLIAL FIBRILLARY ACIDIC PROTEIN (GFAP), A KNOWN MARKER OF ACTIVATED ASTROCYTES, WAS ELEVATED IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX (PFC) FOLLOWING BLAST EXPOSURE FOR BOTH INJURY GROUPS. ANALYSIS OF HISTONE PROTEIN EXTRACT SHOWED NO CHANGES IN THE LEVEL OF ANY TOTAL HISTONE PROTEINS WITHIN THE PFC. HOWEVER, ACETYLATION LEVELS OF HISTONE H2B, H3, AND H4 WERE DECREASED IN BOTH GROUPS (P < 0.05). CO-LOCALIZATION IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE WAS USED TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE ANY POTENTIAL CORRELATION BETWEEN DECREASED HISTONE ACETYLATION AND ASTROCYTE ACTIVATION. THESE EXPERIMENTS SHOWED A SIMILAR DECREASE IN H3 ACETYLATION IN ASTROCYTES EXPOSED TO A 17 PSI BLAST BUT NOT A 10 PSI BLAST. FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF GENE EXPRESSION BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) ARRAY, SHOWED DYSREGULATION OF SEVERAL CYTOKINE AND CYTOKINE RECEPTORS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN NEUROINFLAMMATORY PROCESSES. WE HAVE SHOWN ABERRANT HISTONE ACETYLATION PATTERNS INVOLVED IN BLAST INDUCED ASTROGLIOSIS AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS. FURTHER UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR ROLE IN THE INJURY PROGRESSION MAY LEAD TO NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
4  1019  37 CIRCRNA-MIRNA CROSS-TALK IN THE TRANSITION FROM PAROXYSMAL TO PERMANENT ATRIAL FIBRILLATION. BACKGROUND: ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (AF) IS THE MOST PREVALENT CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA IN WESTERN COUNTRIES. THE FACTORS GOVERNING THE PROGRESSION OF AF TO A PERMANENT CHRONIC CONDITION ARE STILL NOT WELL CHARACTERIZED. AMONG EPIGENETIC FACTORS, NON-CODING RNAS (NCRNAS) SUCH AS MIRNAS AND LNCRNAS HAVE BEEN RECENTLY DESCRIBED AS IMPORTANT PLAYERS INVOLVED IN THE AF PROGRESSION. WE HYPOTHESIZE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ADDITIONAL REGULATORY LAYERS IN AF INVOLVING AN INTRICATE CROSS-TALK BETWEEN DIFFERENT NCRNA SPECIES, NAMELY MIRNAS AND CIRCRNAS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CHRONIC AF CONDITION. METHODS AND RESULTS: WE HAVE PERFORMED AN UNBIASED STUDY ANALYZING THE EXPRESSION PROFILE FOR MIRNAS AND CIRCRNAS IN LEFT-ATRIAL BIOPSIES FROM PATIENTS WITH PAROXYSMAL AND PERMANENT AF BY RNA-SEQ. THE TRANSITION FROM PAROXYSMAL TO PERMANENT AF IS CHARACTERIZED BY A PATTERN OF DOWN-REGULATED MIRNAS, CONCOMITANT TO THE APPEARANCE OF SPECIFIC CIRCRNA SPECIES. THE ANALYSIS OF THE SPONGING ACTIVITIES OF THE CIRCRNAS EXCLUSIVELY EXPRESSED IN PERMANENT AF SAMPLES, ALLOWED US TO DETERMINE THAT THEY COULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DOWNREGULATION OF SPECIFIC MIRNAS IN ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMANENT AF CONDITION. CONCLUSION: SPONGING ACTIVITY OF CIRCRNAS SEQUESTERING SPECIFIC MIRNAS IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN AF PROGRESSION.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
5  2300  31 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF BDNF EXPRESSION IN THE PRIMARY SENSORY NEURONS AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY: IMPLICATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) IS KNOWN TO BE UP-REGULATED IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY, AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN. HERE, WE FOUND THAT THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA AT DAY 7 POST-INJURY WERE INHIBITED ONLY WHEN ANTI-BDNF ANTIBODY WAS INTRATHECALLY ADMINISTRATED AT DAY 2 POST-INJURY. CONSISTENT WITH BEHAVIORAL RESULTS, WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF BDNF PROTEIN IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN WERE MARKEDLY INDUCED DURING EARLY STAGE POST-INJURY. MOREOVER, THE MAXIMAL INCREASE IN BDNF MRNA EXPRESSION IN THE DRG WAS OBSERVED AT DAY 1 POST-INJURY, AND SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED LEVELS WERE SUSTAINED FOR AT LEAST 14 DAYS. FOUR OF FIVE BDNF MRNA TRANSCRIPTS WERE UP-REGULATED AFTER NERVE INJURY, AND THE MOST INDUCIBLE TRANSCRIPT WAS EXON I. USING A CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (CHIP) ASSAY, WE FOUND THAT NERVE INJURY PROMOTES HISTONE H3 AND H4 ACETYLATION, TRANSCRIPTIONALLY ACTIVE MODIFICATIONS, AT BDNF PROMOTER I AT DAY 1 POST-INJURY, AND THE LEVELS OF HISTONE ACETYLATION REMAIN ELEVATED FOR AT LEAST 7 DAYS. TAKEN TOGETHER, OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT AN INITIAL INCREASE IN BDNF EXON I EXPRESSION CONTROLLED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MIGHT HAVE A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
6  1826  35 EFFECTS OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR ON EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX PRODUCTION IN HUMAN NASAL POLYP ORGAN CULTURES. BACKGROUND: NASAL POLYPOSIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITION OF THE SINONASAL MUCOSA AND INVOLVES MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) ACCUMULATION. EPIGENETIC MODULATION BY HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) INHIBITORS INCLUDING TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA) HAS BEEN REPORTED TO HAVE INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION IN LUNG AND RENAL FIBROBLASTS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF TSA ON MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND ECM PRODUCTION IN NASAL POLYP ORGAN CULTURES. METHODS: NASAL POLYP TISSUES FROM 18 PATIENTS WERE ACQUIRED DURING ENDOSCOPIC SINUS SURGERY. AFTER ORGAN CULTURE, NASAL POLYPS WERE STIMULATED WITH TGF-BETA1 AND THEN TREATED WITH TSA. ALPHA-SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN (ALPHA-SMA), FIBRONECTIN, AND COLLAGEN TYPE I EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE EXAMINED BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR), REAL-TIME PCR, WESTERN BLOT, AND IMMUNOFLUORESCENT STAINING. HDAC2, HDAC4, AND ACETYLATED H4 EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE ASSAYED BY WESTERN BLOT. CYTOTOXICITY WAS ANALYZED BY THE TERMINAL DEOXYNUCLEOTIDYL TRANSFERASE BIOTIN-DUTP NICK END LABELING ASSAY. RESULTS: THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF ALPHA-SMA, FIBRONECTIN, AND COLLAGEN TYPE 1 WERE INCREASED IN NASAL POLYP AFTER TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR (TGF) BETA1 TREATMENT. TSA-INHIBITED TGF-BETA1 INDUCED THESE GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION LEVELS. FURTHERMORE, TSA SUPPRESSED PROTEIN EXPRESSION LEVELS OF HDAC2 AND HDAC4. HOWEVER, TSA INDUCED HYPERACETYLATION OF HISTONES H4. TREATMENT WITH TGF-BETA1 WITH OR WITHOUT TSA DID NOT HAVE CYTOTOXIC EFFECT. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND ECM PRODUCTION OF NASAL POLYP. TSA COULD BE A CANDIDATE OF A THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR REVERSING THE TGF-BETA1-INDUCED ECM SYNTHESIS THAT LEADS TO NASAL POLYP DEVELOPMENT.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
7  2736  42 EXPLORING THE TRANSCRIPTOME OF RESIDENT SPINAL MICROGLIA AFTER COLLAGEN ANTIBODY-INDUCED ARTHRITIS. RECENT STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED A SEXUALLY DIMORPHIC ROLE OF SPINAL GLIAL CELLS IN THE MAINTENANCE OF MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY IN RODENT MODELS OF CHRONIC PAIN. WE HAVE USED THE COLLAGEN ANTIBODY-INDUCED ARTHRITIS (CAIA) MOUSE MODEL TO EXAMINE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MALES AND FEMALES IN THE CONTEXT OF SPINAL REGULATION OF ARTHRITIS-INDUCED PAIN. WE HAVE FOCUSED ON THE LATE PHASE OF THIS MODEL WHEN JOINT INFLAMMATION HAS RESOLVED, BUT MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY PERSISTS. ALTHOUGH THE INTENSITY OF SUBSTANCE P, CALCITONIN GENE-RELATED PEPTIDE, AND GALANIN IMMUNOREACTIVITY IN THE SPINAL CORD WAS NOT DIFFERENT FROM CONTROLS, THE INTENSITY OF MICROGLIA (IBA-1) AND ASTROCYTE (GLIAL FIBRILLARY ACIDIC PROTEIN) MARKERS WAS ELEVATED IN BOTH MALES AND FEMALES. INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE GLIAL INHIBITORS MINOCYCLINE AND PENTOXIFYLLINE REVERSED MECHANICAL THRESHOLDS IN MALE, BUT NOT IN FEMALE MICE. WE ISOLATED RESIDENT MICROGLIA FROM THE LUMBAR DORSAL HORNS AND OBSERVED A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER NUMBER OF MICROGLIAL CELLS IN FEMALES BY FLOW CYTOMETRY ANALYSIS. HOWEVER, ALTHOUGH GENOME-WIDE RNA SEQUENCING RESULTS POINTED TO SEVERAL TRANSCRIPTIONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE MICROGLIA, NO CONVINCING DIFFERENCES WERE IDENTIFIED BETWEEN CONTROL AND CAIA GROUPS. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THERE ARE SUBTLE SEX DIFFERENCES IN MICROGLIAL EXPRESSION PROFILES INDEPENDENT OF ARTHRITIS. OUR EXPERIMENTS FAILED TO IDENTIFY THE UNDERLYING MRNA CORRELATES OF MICROGLIAL ACTIONS IN THE LATE PHASE OF THE CAIA MODEL. IT IS LIKELY THAT TRANSCRIPTIONAL CHANGES ARE EITHER SUBTLE AND HIGHLY LOCALISED AND THEREFORE DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY WITH BULK ISOLATION TECHNIQUES OR THAT OTHER FACTORS, SUCH AS CHANGES IN PROTEIN EXPRESSION OR EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, ARE AT PLAY.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
8   219  26 ACUTE IMMOBILIZATION STRESS FOLLOWING CONTEXTUAL FEAR CONDITIONING REDUCES FEAR MEMORY: TIMING IS ESSENTIAL. BACKGROUND: HISTONE ACETYLATION IS REGULATED IN RESPONSE TO STRESS AND PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN LEARNING AND MEMORY. CHRONIC STRESS IS KNOWN TO DETERIORATE COGNITION, WHEREAS ACUTE STRESS FACILITATES MEMORY FORMATION. HOWEVER, WHETHER ACUTE STRESS FACILITATES MEMORY FORMATION WHEN IT IS APPLIED AFTER FEAR STIMULATION IS NOT YET KNOWN. THEREFORE, THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF ACUTE STRESS APPLIED AFTER FEAR TRAINING ON MEMORY FORMATION, MRNA EXPRESSION OF BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF), EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF BDNF EXPRESSION, AND CORTICOSTERONE LEVEL IN MICE IN VIVO. METHODS: MICE WERE SUBJECTED TO ACUTE IMMOBILIZATION STRESS FOR 30 MIN AT 60 OR 90 MIN AFTER CONTEXTUAL FEAR CONDITIONING TRAINING, AND ACETYLATION OF HISTONE 3 AT LYSINE 14 (H3K14) AND LEVEL OF CORTICOSTERONE WERE MEASURED USING WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS AND ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (ELISA), RESPECTIVELY. A FREEZING BEHAVIOR TEST WAS PERFORMED 24 H AFTER TRAINING, AND MRNA EXPRESSION OF BDNF WAS MEASURED USING REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTIONS. DIFFERENT GROUPS OF MICE WERE USED FOR EACH TEST. RESULTS: FREEZING BEHAVIOR SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED WITH THE DOWN-REGULATION OF BDNF MRNA EXPRESSION CAUSED BY ACUTE IMMOBILIZATION STRESS AT 60 MIN AFTER FEAR CONDITIONING TRAINING OWING TO THE REDUCTION OF H3K14 ACETYLATION. HOWEVER, BDNF MRNA EXPRESSION AND H3K14 ACETYLATION WERE NOT REDUCED IN ANIMALS SUBJECTED TO IMMOBILIZATION STRESS AT 90 MIN AFTER THE TRAINING. FURTHER, THE CORTICOSTERONE LEVEL WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGH IN MICE SUBJECTED TO IMMOBILIZATION STRESS AT 60 MIN AFTER THE TRAINING. CONCLUSION: ACUTE IMMOBILIZATION STRESS FOR 30 MIN AT 60 MIN AFTER FEAR CONDITIONING TRAINING IMPAIRED MEMORY FORMATION AND REDUCED BDNF MRNA EXPRESSION AND H3K14 ACETYLATION IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF MICE OWING TO THE HIGH LEVEL OF CORTICOSTERONE.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
9  6418  40 THE TEMPORAL EXPRESSION OF CIRCULATING MICRORNAS AFTER ACUTE EXPERIMENTAL PAIN IN HUMANS. BACKGROUND: MICRORNAS (MIRNAS) CAN MODULATE SEVERAL BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, INCLUDING THE PAIN SYSTEM. THIS STUDY AIMED TO EVALUATE THE TEMPORAL EXPRESSION OF CIRCULATING MIRNAS IN THE PLASMA OF HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS AS A MARKER FOR EPIGENETIC CHANGES BEFORE AND AFTER AN ACUTE, EXPERIMENTAL, PAIN PROVOCATION BY INTRAMUSCULAR HYPERTONIC SALINE INJECTION. METHODS: TWENTY VOLUNTEERS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED INTO TWO GROUPS AND RECEIVED EITHER HYPERTONIC (PAIN) OR ISOTONIC (CONTROL) SALINE INJECTION IN THE FIRST DORSAL INTEROSSEOUS MUSCLE OF THEIR DOMINANT HAND. PAIN INTENSITY WAS CONTINUOUSLY RECORDED FOR 20 MINUTES AFTER INJECTION ON A VAS SCALE FROM 0 TO 100 (0 INDICATES NO PAIN AND 100 THE WORST IMAGINABLE PAIN). BLOOD SAMPLES WERE TAKEN AT BASELINE, 30 MINUTES, 3 HOURS, AND 24 HOURS POST-INJECTION, AND PLASMA WAS SEPARATED. MIRNA EXTRACTS WERE USED FOR RNA SEQUENCING WITH THE ILLUMINA NEXTSEQ PLATFORM. MIRNA TRANSCRIPTS WERE COMPARED BETWEEN THE PAIN AND THE NO-PAIN, CONTROL GROUP AT EVERY TIME POINT. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE CONSIDERED WHEN FOLDS WERE >2 AND THE FALSE DISCOVERY RATE WAS P < 0.05. RESULTS: AFTER 30 MINUTES, 4 MIRNAS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED IN THE PAIN GROUP COMPARED TO CONTROLS, WHICH INCREASED TO 24 AFTER 3 HOURS AND TO 42 AFTER 24 HOURS FROM BASELINE (P < 0.0001). TWO MIRNAS WERE CONSISTENTLY UPREGULATED THROUGHOUT THE EXPERIMENT. ENRICHMENT ANALYSIS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT MIRNAS INVOLVED IN BRAIN PERCEPTION OF PAIN, BRAIN SIGNALLING AND RESPONSE TO STIMULI. CONCLUSIONS: THIS EXPLORATORY STUDY IS THE FIRST TO REPORT ON THE TEMPORAL EXPRESSION OF CIRCULATING MIRNAS AFTER AN ACUTE, HUMAN EXPERIMENTAL MUSCLE PAIN MODEL. SIGNIFICANCE: THIS EXPLORATORY STUDY EVALUATED THE TEMPORAL PROFILE OF CIRCULATING MIRNAS IN THE PLASMA OF HEALTHY SUBJECTS AFTER ACUTE EXPERIMENTAL PAIN. SEVERAL MIRNAS WERE ALTERED IN SUBJECTS AT THE TIMES OF FOLLOW-UP AFTER THE ACUTE PAIN MODEL WHEN COMPARED TO CONTROLS. MIRNAS PREVIOUSLY ASSOCIATED WITH PAIN PROCESSES WERE ALTERED IN THE PAIN GROUP. OUR RESULTS, BY SHOWING THE FAST AND PROLONGED MODIFICATIONS OF MIRNA ELICITED BY THE ACUTE EXPERIMENTAL PAIN MODEL, ADD NEW PERSPECTIVES TO THE TOPIC OF EPIGENETICS AND PAIN.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
10  3600  40 IMPORTANCE OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN VISCERAL PAIN INDUCED BY CHRONIC WATER AVOIDANCE STRESS. EPIGENETIC MOLECULAR MECHANISMS, WHICH INCLUDE DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE DEACETYLATION, ARE IMPLICATED IN THE DYSREGULATION OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS. PREVIOUSLY, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT REPEATED WATER AVOIDANCE STRESS (WAS), A VALIDATED MODEL OF CHRONIC PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS, INDUCES HEIGHTENED VISCERAL PAIN BEHAVIORS IN RODENTS THAT RESEMBLE IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS) SEQUELAE. HOWEVER, THE INVOLVEMENT OF EPIGENETIC MOLECULAR MECHANISMS IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF STRESS-INDUCED VISCERAL PAIN HAS NOT BEEN EXPLORED. OUR HYPOTHESIS IS THAT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS WITHIN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) ARE IMPORTANT TO CHRONIC STRESS-INDUCED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY. ADULT MALE F-344 RATS WITH INTRACEREBROVENTRICULAR (I.C.V.) CANNULAE WERE EXPOSED TO 7 DAYS OF REPEATED WAS. CONTROLS RECEIVED A SHAM STRESS. FOLLOWING THE DAILY 1H STRESSOR, TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA; 100 NG/ML), A POTENT HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR, OR VEHICLE (VEH; 0.1% DMSO/SALINE,) AS CONTROL WAS ADMINISTERED VIA THE I.C.V. CANNULA. VISCERAL SENSITIVITY WAS ASSESSED 24H AFTER THE FINAL WAS AND QUANTIFIED THE VISCEROMOTOR RESPONSE (VMR) BY RECORDING THE NUMBER OF ABDOMINAL CONTRACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO GRADED PRESSURES (20-60 MMHG) OF COLORECTAL DISTENSIONS (CRD). FROM A SEPARATE GROUP OF RATS THAT WERE EXPOSED TO REPEATED WAS OR SHAM STRESS, THE AMYGDALA WAS ISOLATED TO ASSESS THE METHYLATION STATUS OF GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) AND CORTICOTROPIN RELEASING-FACTOR (CRF) GENES VIA BISULFITE SEQUENCING AND VERIFIED BY PYROSEQUENCING. GR AND CRF GENE EXPRESSION WAS QUANTIFIED VIA QRT-PCR. STRESSED RATS EXHIBITED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY THAT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED BY TSA. COMPARED TO SHAM CONTROLS, METHYLATION OF THE GR GENE WAS INCREASED FOLLOWING WAS WHILE EXPRESSION OF THE GR GENE WAS DECREASED. METHYLATION OF THE CRF PROMOTER WAS DECREASED WITH WAS WITH A CONCOMITANT INCREASE IN CRF EXPRESSION. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THE INVOLVEMENT OF CENTRAL EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN REGULATING STRESS-INDUCED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AND PROVIDES A FOUNDATION FOR EXPLORING THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO IBS-LIKE SYMPTOMATOLOGY.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
11  3506  35 IDENTIFICATION OF SPINAL CORD MICRORNA AND GENE SIGNATURES IN A MODEL OF CHRONIC STRESS-INDUCED VISCERAL HYPERALGESIA IN RAT. INTRODUCTION: ANIMAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT STRESS COULD INDUCE EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC ALTERATIONS ESSENTIAL IN DETERMINING THE BALANCE BETWEEN ADAPTIVE OR MALADAPTIVE RESPONSES TO STRESS. WE TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT CHRONIC STRESS IN RATS DEREGULATES CODING AND NON-CODING GENE EXPRESSION IN THE SPINAL CORD, WHICH MAY UNDERLINE NEUROINFLAMMATION AND NOCICEPTIVE CHANGES PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED IN THIS MODEL. METHODS: MALE WISTAR RATS WERE EXPOSED TO DAILY STRESS OR HANDLED, FOR 10 DAYS. AT DAY 11, LUMBAR SPINAL SEGMENTS WERE COLLECTED AND PROCESSED FOR MRNA/MIRNA ISOLATION FOLLOWED BY EXPRESSION PROFILING USING AGILENT SUREPRINT RAT EXON AND RAT MIRNA MICROARRAY PLATFORMS. DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED GENE LISTS WERE GENERATED USING THE DCHIP PROGRAM. MICROARRAYS WERE ANALYZED USING THE INGENUITY PATHWAYS ANALYSIS (IPA) TOOL FROM INGENUITY SYSTEMS. MULTIPLE METHODS WERE USED FOR THE ANALYSIS OF MIRNA-MRNA FUNCTIONAL MODULES. QUANTITATIVE REAL TIME RT-PCR FOR INTERLEUKIN 6 SIGNAL TRANSDUCER (GP130), THE SIGNAL TRANSDUCER AND ACTIVATOR OF TRANSCRIPTION 3 (STAT3), GLIAL FIBRILLARY ACIDIC PROTEIN AND MIR-17-5P WERE PERFORMED TO CONFIRM LEVELS OF EXPRESSION. RESULTS: GENE NETWORK ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT STRESS DEREGULATED DIFFERENT INFLAMMATORY (IL-6, JAK/STAT, TNF) AND METABOLIC (PI3K/AKT) SIGNALING PATHWAYS. MICRORNA ARRAY ANALYSIS REVEALED A SIGNATURE OF 39 DEREGULATED MICRORNAS IN STRESSED RATS. MICRORNA-GENE NETWORK ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT MICRORNAS ARE REGULATORS OF TWO GENE NETWORKS RELEVANT TO INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES. SPECIFICALLY, OUR ANALYSIS OF MIRNA-MRNA FUNCTIONAL MODULES IDENTIFIED MIR-17-5P AS AN IMPORTANT REGULATOR IN OUR MODEL. WE VERIFIED MIR-17-5P INCREASED EXPRESSION IN STRESS USING QPCR AND IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION. IN ADDITION, WE OBSERVED CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION OF GP130 AND STAT3 (INVOLVED IN INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING CASCADES IN RESPONSE TO GP130 ACTIVATION), BOTH PREDICTED TARGETS FOR MIR-17-5P. A MODULATORY ROLE OF SPINAL MIR17-5P IN THE MODULATION OF VISCERAL SENSITIVITY WAS CONFIRMED IN VIVO. CONCLUSION: USING AN INTEGRATIVE HIGH THROUGHPUT APPROACH, OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST A LINK BETWEEN MIR-17-5P INCREASED EXPRESSION AND GP130/STAT3 ACTIVATION PROVIDING NEW INSIGHT INTO THE POSSIBLE MECHANISMS MEDIATING THE EFFECT OF CHRONIC STRESS ON NEUROINFLAMMATION IN THE SPINAL CORD.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
12  1653  39 DOPAMINE TRANSPORTER KNOCKOUT RATS DISPLAY EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN RESPONSE TO COCAINE EXPOSURE. (1) BACKGROUND: THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR COCAINE USE DISORDER (CUD), AND NEW PHARMACOLOGICAL APPROACHES TARGETING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS APPEAR TO BE PROMISING OPTIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF THIS DISEASE. DOPAMINE TRANSPORTER (DAT) TRANSGENIC RATS RECENTLY HAVE BEEN PROPOSED AS A NEW ANIMAL MODEL FOR STUDYING SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CUD. (2) METHODS: DAT TRANSGENIC RATS WERE TREATED CHRONICALLY WITH COCAINE (10 MG/KG) FOR 8 DAYS, AND THE EXPRESSION OF EPIGENETIC MODULATORS, LYSINE DEMETHYLASE 6B (KDM6B) AND BROMODOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 4 (BRD4), WAS EXAMINED IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX (PFC). (3) RESULTS: WE SHOW THAT ONLY FULL KNOCKOUT (KO) OF DAT IMPACTS BASAL LEVELS OF KDM6B IN FEMALES. ADDITIONALLY, COCAINE ALTERED THE EXPRESSION OF BOTH EPIGENETIC MARKERS IN A SEX- AND GENOTYPE-DEPENDENT MANNER. IN RESPONSE TO CHRONIC COCAINE, KDM6B EXPRESSION WAS DECREASED IN MALE RATS WITH PARTIAL DAT MUTATION (HET), WHILE NO CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN WILD-TYPE (WT) OR KO RATS. INDEED, WHILE HET MALE RATS HAVE REDUCED KDM6B AND BRD4 EXPRESSION, HET FEMALE RATS SHOWED INCREASED KDM6B AND BRD4 EXPRESSION LEVELS, HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPACT OF SEX ON EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN RESPONSE TO COCAINE. FINALLY, BOTH MALE AND FEMALE KO RATS SHOWED INCREASED EXPRESSION OF BRD4, BUT ONLY KO FEMALES EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED KDM6B EXPRESSION IN RESPONSE TO COCAINE. ADDITIONALLY, THE MAGNITUDE OF THESE EFFECTS WAS BIGGER IN FEMALES WHEN COMPARED TO MALES FOR BOTH EPIGENETIC ENZYMES. (4) CONCLUSIONS: THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY PROVIDES ADDITIONAL SUPPORT THAT TARGETING KDM6B AND/OR BRD4 MAY POTENTIALLY BE THERAPEUTIC IN TREATING ADDICTION-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN A SEX-DEPENDENT MANNER.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
13  5760  44 SOLUBLE URIC ACID PRIMES TLR-INDUCED PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION BY HUMAN PRIMARY CELLS VIA INHIBITION OF IL-1RA. OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY OF THE PROINFLAMMATORY ROLE OF URIC ACID HAS FOCUSED ON THE EFFECTS OF ITS CRYSTALS OF MONOSODIUM URATE (MSU). HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN WHETHER URIC ACID ITSELF CAN DIRECTLY HAVE PROINFLAMMATORY EFFECTS. IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATE THE PRIMING EFFECTS OF URIC ACID EXPOSURE ON THE CYTOKINE PRODUCTION OF PRIMARY HUMAN CELLS UPON STIMULATION WITH GOUT-RELATED STIMULI. METHODS: PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) WERE HARVESTED FROM PATIENTS WITH GOUT AND HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. CELLS WERE PRETREATED WITH OR WITHOUT URIC ACID IN SOLUBLE FORM FOR 24 H AND THEN STIMULATED FOR 24 H WITH TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR (TLR)2 OR TLR4 LIGANDS IN THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF MSU CRYSTALS. CYTOKINE PRODUCTION WAS MEASURED BY ELISA; MRNA LEVELS WERE ASSESSED USING QPCR. RESULTS: THE PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN (IL)-1BETA AND IL-6 WAS HIGHER IN PATIENTS COMPARED WITH CONTROLS AND THIS CORRELATED WITH SERUM URATE LEVELS. PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY POTENTIATED WHEN CELLS FROM HEALTHY SUBJECTS WERE PRETREATED WITH URIC ACID. SURPRISINGLY, THIS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT DOWNREGULATION OF THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE IL-1 RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST (IL-1RA). THIS EFFECT WAS SPECIFIC TO STIMULATION BY URIC ACID AND WAS EXERTED AT THE LEVEL OF GENE TRANSCRIPTION. EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING AT THE LEVEL OF HISTONE METHYLATION BY URIC ACID WAS INVOLVED IN THIS EFFECT. CONCLUSIONS: IN THIS STUDY WE DEMONSTRATE A MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF URIC ACID (UP TO 50 MG/DL) INFLUENCE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES BY FACILITATING IL-1BETA PRODUCTION IN PBMCS. WE SHOW THAT A MECHANISM FOR THE AMPLIFICATION OF IL-1BETA CONSISTS IN THE DOWNREGULATION OF IL-1RA AND THAT THIS EFFECT COULD BE EXERTED VIA EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS SUCH AS HISTONE METHYLATION. HYPERURICAEMIA CAUSES A SHIFT IN THE IL-1BETA/IL-1RA BALANCE PRODUCED BY PBMCS AFTER EXPOSURE TO MSU CRYSTALS AND TLR-MEDIATED STIMULI, AND THIS PHENOMENON IS LIKELY TO REINFORCE THE ENHANCED STATE OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
14  2353  29 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA, DEPENDENCE, AND TOLERANCE IN MICE. REPEATED ADMINISTRATION OF OPIOIDS SUCH AS MORPHINE INDUCES PERSISTENT BEHAVIORAL CHANGES INCLUDING OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA (OIH), TOLERANCE, AND PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE. IN THE CURRENT WORK WE EXPLORED HOW THE BALANCE OF HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE (HAT) VERSUS HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) MIGHT REGULATE THESE MORPHINE-INDUCED CHANGES. NOCICEPTIVE THRESHOLDS, ANALGESIA, AND PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE WERE ASSESSED DURING AND FOR A PERIOD OF SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER MORPHINE EXPOSURE. TO PROBE THE ROLES OF HISTONE ACETYLATION, THE HAT INHIBITOR CURCUMIN OR A SELECTIVE HDAC INHIBITOR SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA) WAS ADMINISTERED DAILY TO GROUPS OF ANIMALS. HISTONE ACETYLATION IN SPINAL CORD WAS ASSESSED BY WESTERN BLOT AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY. CONCURRENT ADMINISTRATION OF CURCUMIN WITH MORPHINE FOR 4 DAYS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED DEVELOPMENT OF OPIOID-INDUCED MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA, THERMAL HYPERALGESIA, TOLERANCE, AND PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE. CONVERSELY, THE HDAC INHIBITOR SAHA ENHANCED THESE RESPONSES. INTERESTINGLY, SAHA TREATMENT AFTER THE TERMINATION OF OPIOID ADMINISTRATION SUSTAINED THESE BEHAVIORAL CHANGES FOR AT LEAST 4 WEEKS. HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION IN THE DORSAL HORN OF THE SPINAL CORD WAS INCREASED AFTER CHRONIC MORPHINE TREATMENT, BUT H4 ACETYLATION WAS UNCHANGED. MOREOVER, WE OBSERVED A DECREASE IN HDAC ACTIVITY IN THE SPINAL CORDS OF MORPHINE-TREATED MICE WHILE OVERALL HAT ACTIVITY WAS UNCHANGED, SUGGESTING A SHIFT TOWARD A STATE OF ENHANCED HISTONE ACETYLATION. PERSPECTIVE: THE CURRENT STUDY INDICATES THAT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN OPIOID-INDUCED LONG-LASTING NEUROPLASTICITY. THESE RESULTS PROVIDE NEW SIGHT INTO UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS OF OPIOID-INDUCED NEUROPLASTICITY AND SUGGEST NEW STRATEGIES TO LIMIT OPIOID ABUSE POTENTIAL AND INCREASE THE VALUE OF THESE DRUGS AS ANALGESICS.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
15  1800  26 EFFECT OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR ON ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA IN RATS. BACKGROUND: INCREASED PAIN SENSITIVITY IS OBSERVED FOLLOWING ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL, AND ATTEMPTS TO ALLEVIATE THIS HYPERALGESIA CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE CYCLE OF ADDICTION. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE IF ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA WAS OBSERVED IN A CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE MODEL AND IF THIS PAIN WAS AFFECTED BY HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS, THUS REVEALING AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM. METHODS: ADULT MALE SPRAGUE DAWLEY RATS RECEIVED LIEBER-DECARLI LIQUID CONTROL OR ETHANOL (9% V/V) DIET FOR 15 DAYS. MECHANICAL SENSITIVITY WAS MEASURED WITH VON FREY HAIR STIMULATION OF THE HINDPAW DURING ETHANOL ADMINISTRATION AND 24- AND 72-HOUR WITHDRAWAL. RESULTS: ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL PRODUCED SEVERE AND SUSTAINED MECHANICAL HYPERALGESIA, AN EFFECT NOT OBSERVED IN THE CONTROL OR ETHANOL-MAINTAINED GROUPS. FURTHERMORE, THIS HYPERALGESIA WAS ATTENUATED BY THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR, SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID TREATMENT. CONCLUSIONS: HEIGHTENED PAIN SENSITIVITY WAS OBSERVED FOLLOWING WITHDRAWAL FROM CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE, AND HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS COULD BE NOVEL TREATMENTS FOR THIS ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
16  3337  31 HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS PREVENT PERSISTENT HYPERSENSITIVITY IN AN OROFACIAL NEUROPATHIC PAIN MODEL. CHRONIC OROFACIAL PAIN IS A SIGNIFICANT HEALTH PROBLEM REQUIRING IDENTIFICATION OF REGULATING PROCESSES. INVOLVEMENT OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS THAT IS REPORTED FOR HINDLIMB NEUROPATHIC PAIN EXPERIMENTAL MODELS, HOWEVER, IS LESS WELL STUDIED IN CRANIAL NERVE PAIN MODELS. THREE INDEPENDENT OBSERVATIONS REPORTED HERE ARE THE (1) EPIGENETIC PROFILE IN MOUSE TRIGEMINAL GANGLIA (TG) AFTER TRIGEMINAL INFLAMMATORY COMPRESSION (TIC) NERVE INJURY MOUSE MODEL DETERMINED BY GENE EXPRESSION MICROARRAY, (2) H3K9 ACETYLATION PATTERN IN TG BY IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY, AND (3) EFFICACY OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) INHIBITORS TO ATTENUATE DEVELOPMENT OF HYPERSENSITIVITY. AFTER TIC INJURY, IPSILATERAL WHISKER PAD MECHANICAL SENSITIZATION DEVELOPS BY DAY 3 AND PERSISTS WELL BEYOND DAY 21 IN CONTRAST TO SHAM SURGERY. GLOBAL ACETYLATION OF H3K9 DECREASES AT DAY 21 IN IPSILATERAL TG . THIRTY-FOUR GENES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY ( P < 0.05) OVEREXPRESSED IN THE IPSILATERAL TG BY AT LEAST TWO-FOLD AT EITHER 3 OR 21 DAYS POST-TRIGEMINAL INFLAMMATORY COMPRESSION INJURY. THE THREE GENES MOST OVEREXPRESSED THREE DAYS POST-TRIGEMINAL INFLAMMATORY COMPRESSION NERVE INJURY ARE NERVE REGENERATION-ASSOCIATED GENE ATF3, UP 6.8-FOLD, AND TWO OF ITS REGENERATION-ASSOCIATED GENE EFFECTOR GENES, SPRR1A AND GAL, UP 174- AND 25-FOLD, RESPECTIVELY. ALTHOUGH TRANSCRIPTION LEVELS OF 25 OF 32 GENES SIGNIFICANTLY OVEREXPRESSED THREE DAYS POST-TRIGEMINAL INFLAMMATORY COMPRESSION RETURN TO CONSTITUTIVE LEVELS BY DAY 21, THESE THREE REGENERATION-ASSOCIATED GENES REMAIN SIGNIFICANTLY OVEREXPRESSED AT THE LATER TIME POINT. ON DAY 21, WHEN TISSUES ARE HEALED, OTHER DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED GENES INCLUDE 39 OF THE TOP 50 UPREGULATED AND DOWNREGULATED GENES. REMARKABLY, PREEMPTIVE MANIPULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION WITH TWO HDAC INHIBITORS (HDACI'S), SUBERANILOHYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA) AND MS-275, REDUCES THE MAGNITUDE AND DURATION OF WHISKER PAD MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AND PREVENTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PERSISTENT PAIN STATE. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT TRIGEMINAL NERVE INJURY LEADS TO EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS FAVORING OVEREXPRESSION OF GENES INVOLVED IN NERVE REGENERATION AND THAT MAINTAINING TRANSCRIPTIONAL HOMEOSTASIS WITH EPIGENETIC MODIFYING DRUGS COULD HELP PREVENT THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSISTENT PAIN.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
17  3994  46 LONGITUDINAL PROFILING IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CARDIAC SURGERY REVEALS POSTOPERATIVE CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION. BACKGROUND: CARDIAC SURGERY AND CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS INDUCE A SUBSTANTIAL IMMUNE AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, THE OVERACTIVATION OF WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT PULMONARY, CARDIOVASCULAR, AND NEUROLOGIC COMPLICATIONS. COMMENSURATE WITH THE IMMUNE AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE ARE CHANGES IN THE HEART AND VASCULATURE ITSELF, WHICH TOGETHER DRIVE POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS THROUGH MECHANISMS THAT ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. LONGITUDINAL DNA METHYLATION PROFILING HAS THE POTENTIAL TO IDENTIFY CHANGES IN GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS THAT ARE SECONDARY TO SURGERY AND TO IDENTIFY MOLECULAR PROCESSES THAT PREDICT AND/OR CAUSE POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS. IN THIS STUDY, WE MEASURE DNA METHYLATION IN PREOPERATIVE AND POSTOPERATIVE WHOLE BLOOD SAMPLES FROM 96 PATIENTS UNDERGOING CARDIAC SURGERY ON CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS. RESULTS: WHILE THE VAST MAJORITY OF DNA METHYLATION IS UNCHANGED BY SURGERY AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR CHANGES IN CELL-TYPE COMPOSITION, WE IDENTIFY SEVERAL LOCI WITH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT POSTOPERATIVE CHANGES IN METHYLATION. ADDITIONALLY, TWO OF THESE LOCI ARE ASSOCIATED WITH NEW-ONSET POSTOPERATIVE ATRIAL FIBRILLATION, A SIGNIFICANT COMPLICATION AFTER CARDIAC SURGERY. PAIRED STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, USE OF FACS DATA TO SUPPORT SUFFICIENT CONTROL OF CELL-TYPE HETEROGENEITY, AND MEASUREMENT OF IL6 LEVELS IN A SUBSET OF PATIENTS ADD RIGOR TO THIS ANALYSIS, ALLOWING US TO DISTINGUISH CELL-TYPE VARIABILITY FROM ACTUAL CHANGES IN METHYLATION. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY IDENTIFIES SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION THAT OCCUR IMMEDIATELY AFTER CARDIAC SURGERY AND DEMONSTRATES THAT THESE ACUTE ALTERATIONS IN DNA METHYLATION HAVE THE GRANULARITY TO IDENTIFY PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH MAJOR POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS. THIS RESEARCH ALSO ESTABLISHES METHODS FOR CONTROLLING FOR CELL-TYPE VARIABILITY IN A LARGE HUMAN COHORT THAT MAY BE USEFUL TO DEPLOY IN OTHER LONGITUDINAL STUDIES OF EPIGENETIC MARKS IN THE SETTING OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASE.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
18   849  38 CHILDHOOD TRAUMATIZATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENCES IN TRPA1 PROMOTER METHYLATION IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH MULTISOMATOFORM DISORDER WITH PAIN AS THE LEADING BODILY SYMPTOM. BACKGROUND: THE CONSTRUCT OF MULTISOMATOFORM DISORDER (MSD) IS A COMMON POINT OF REFERENCE FOR PATIENTS IN DIFFERENT SOMATIC AND PSYCHOSOMATIC SPECIALTIES AND THEREFORE USEFUL IN STUDYING LARGE WELL-CHARACTERIZED COHORTS OF A PROTOTYPE OF A SOMATOFORM DISORDER AND IN PARALLEL AS A FUNCTIONAL SOMATIC SYNDROME (FSS). THIS DISORDER IS CHARACTERIZED BY DISTRESSING AND FUNCTIONALLY DISABLING SOMATIC SYMPTOMS WITH CHRONIC PAIN AS THE MOST FREQUENT AND CLINICALLY RELEVANT COMPLAINT. PAIN IS PERCEIVED BY NOCICEPTIVE NERVE FIBERS AND TRANSFERRED THROUGH THE GENERATION OF ACTION POTENTIALS BY DIFFERENT RECEPTOR MOLECULES KNOWN TO DETERMINE PAIN SENSITIVITY IN PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT FOR THE TRANSIENT RECEPTOR POTENTIAL ANKYRIN 1 (TRPA1), RECEPTOR METHYLATION OF A PARTICULAR CPG DINUCLEOTIDE IN THE PROMOTER REGION IS INVERSELY ASSOCIATED WITH BOTH HEAT PAIN AND PRESSURE PAIN THRESHOLDS. IN THIS STUDY, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT TRPA1 PROMOTER METHYLATION REGULATES PAIN SENSITIVITY OF PATIENTS WITH MULTISOMATOFORM DISORDER (MSD). A COHORT OF 151 PATIENTS WITH MSD AND 149 MATCHED HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS WERE EVALUATED USING QUANTITATIVE SENSORY TESTING, CLINICAL AND PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT, AND METHYLATION ANALYSIS USING DNA ISOLATED FROM WHOLE BLOOD. RESULTS: WE FOUND CPG -628 TO BE CORRELATED WITH MECHANICAL PAIN THRESHOLD AND CPG -411 TO BE CORRELATED WITH MECHANICAL PAIN THRESHOLD IN FEMALE VOLUNTEERS, I.E., HIGHER METHYLATION LEVELS LEAD TO HIGHER PAIN THRESHOLDS. A NOVEL FINDING IS THAT METHYLATION LEVELS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT BETWEEN PATIENTS WITH NO AND SEVERE LEVELS OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA. CPG METHYLATION ALSO CORRELATED WITH PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT OF PAIN AND PAIN LEVELS RATED ON A VISUAL ANALOG SCALE. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS SUPPORT THE HYPOTHESIS THAT EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF TRPA1 PLAYS A ROLE IN MECHANICAL PAIN SENSITIVITIES IN HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. THEY FURTHER PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR THE POSSIBLE INFLUENCE OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES ON THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF TRPA1 IN PATIENTS WITH MSD.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
19  6108  38 THE ENRICHED ENVIRONMENT AMELIORATES CHRONIC UNPREDICTABLE MILD STRESS-INDUCED DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT BY ACTIVATING THE SIRT1/MIR-134 SIGNALING PATHWAY IN HIPPOCAMPUS. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC UNPREDICTABLE MILD STRESS (CUMS) IS AN IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR FOR DEPRESSION AND COGNITIVE DEFICITS IN HUMANS. ENRICHED ENVIRONMENT (EE) SHOWED A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON DEPRESSION AND COGNITION BY ENHANCING BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) EXPRESSION AND SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY. HOWEVER, IT IS STILL NOT CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD WHETHER AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM IS INVOLVED IN THE BDNF MODULATION AND SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY THAT OCCURS AFTER EE TREATMENT FOR THE DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS AND COGNITIVE DEFICITS ELICITED BY CUMS. IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED THE POSSIBLE MECHANISM OF THE NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF EE. METHODS: ALL RATS WERE EXPOSED TO THE 5-WEEK CUMS PROCEDURE EXCEPT THE CONTROL GROUP. AFTER CUMS PROCEDURE, SOME RATS WERE STEREOTAXICALLY INJECTED WITH SIRT1 PHARMACOLOGIC INHIBITOR EX527 OR SIRT1 KNOCKING DOWN LENTIVIRUS (SH-SIRT1) IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS FOLLOWED BY EE TREATMENT FOR 3 WEEKS. OTHER RATS WERE DIRECTLY SUBJECTED TO EE TREATMENT WITHOUT STEREOTAXIC INJECTION. BEHAVIORAL TESTS WERE USED TO APPRAISE DEPRESSION AND COGNITION AFTER EE TREATMENT. THEN EPIGENETIC MOLECULES, SYNAPTIC PROTEINS, DENDRITIC SPINE DENSITY AND BRANCHES, AND SYNAPTIC MORPHOLOGY OF THE DORSAL HIPPOCAMPUS WERE DETERMINED. RESULTS: WE FOUND THAT CUMS INDUCED DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS INCLUDING DECREASED SUCROSE PREFERENCE RATIO, PROLONGED IMMOBILITY AND REDUCED LOCOMOTOR AND EXPLORATORY ACTIVITY; COGNITIVE DEFICITS INCLUDING SPATIAL LEARNING AND MEMORY IMPAIRMENT; REDUCED DENDRITIC SPINE DENSITY AND NUMBER OF BRANCHES; THINNED POSTSYNAPTIC DENSITY; DOWNREGULATED SIRT1/MICRORNA-134 PATHWAY, DECREASED BDNF AND SYNAPTIC PROTEINS INCLUDING SYNAPTOPHYSIN (SYN) AND POSTSYNAPTIC DENSITY PROTEIN 95 (PSD95) EXPRESSION IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS. HOWEVER, THE CUMS-INDUCED DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS, COGNITIVE DEFICITS, DENDRITIC SPINE DENSITY AND BRANCH NUMBER REDUCTION, POSTSYNAPTIC DENSITY THINNING, SIRT1/MICRORNA-134 PATHWAY DOWNREGULATION, BDNF AND SYNAPTIC PROTEINS REDUCTION, INCLUDING SYNAPTOPHYSIN (SYN) AND POSTSYNAPTIC DENSITY PROTEIN 95 (PSD95), WERE REVERSED BY EE TREATMENT. HOWEVER, DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS AND COGNITIVE DEFICITS WERE OBSERVED AGAIN IN RATS SUBJECTED TO STEREOTAXIC INJECTION WITH EX527 OR SH-SIRT1. FURTHERMORE, THIS STUDY ALSO FOUND THAT SIRT1/MICRORNA-134 REGULATES THE DOWNSTREAM MOLECULES BDNF, AND THE SYNAPTIC PROTEINS SYN AND PSD95 IN PRIMARY CULTURED HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY PROVIDES EVIDENCE FOR THE NEUROPROTECTIVE ROLE OF EE ON DEPRESSION AND COGNITIVE DEFICITS BY ACTIVATING THE SIRT1/MICRORNA-134 PATHWAY, WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR THE REGULATION OF SYNAPTIC PROTEINS, INCLUDING BDNF, PSD95 AND SYN, DENDRITIC REMODELING AND ULTRASTRUCTURE CHANGES OF SYNAPSES IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS.	2019	

20  6039  36 THE CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR CXCR2 SUPPORTS NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION AFTER TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. CHRONIC PAIN AFTER TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI) IS VERY COMMON, BUT THE MECHANISMS LINKING TBI TO PAIN AND THE PAIN-RELATED INTERACTIONS OF TBI WITH PERIPHERAL INJURIES ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. CHEMOKINE RECEPTORS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN BOTH PAIN AND BRAIN INJURY. IN THE CURRENT WORK, WE PURSUED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE EPIGENETICALLY REGULATED CXC CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR 2 (CXCR2) IS A CRUCIAL MODULATOR OF NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION INDUCED BY TBI. FOR THESE STUDIES, WE USED THE RAT LATERAL FLUID PERCUSSION MODEL OF TBI. HISTONE ACTYLTRANSFERASE ACTIVITY WAS BLOCKED USING ANACARDIC ACID BEGINNING IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING INJURY, OR DELAYED FOR SEVEN DAYS PRIOR TO ADMINISTRATION. THE SELECTIVE CXCR2 ANTAGONIST SCH527123 ADMINISTERED SYSTEMICALLY OR INTRATHECALLY WAS USED TO PROBE THE ROLE OF CHEMOKINE SIGNALING ON MECHANICAL HINDPAW SENSITIZATION AFTER TBI. THE EXPRESSION OF THE CXCR2 RECEPTOR WAS ACCOMPLISHED USING REAL-TIME PCR, IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY, AND WESTERN BLOTTING, WHILE EPIGENETIC REGULATION WAS ASSESSED USING CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAY. THE SPINAL LEVELS OF SEVERAL PAIN-RELATED MEDIATORS INCLUDING CXCL1, AN ENDOGENOUS LIGAND FOR CXCR2, AS WELL AS BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR AND PRODYNORPHIN WERE MEASURED BY ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. WE OBSERVED THAT ANACARDIC ACID POTENTLY BLOCKED AND REVERSED MECHANICAL HINDPAW SENSITIZATION AFTER TBI. THE SAME DRUG WAS ABLE TO PREVENT THE UPREGULATION OF CXCR2 AFTER TBI, BUT DID NOT AFFECT THE SPINAL EXPRESSION OF OTHER PAIN MEDIATORS. ON THE OTHER HAND, BOTH SYSTEMICALLY AND INTRATHECALLY ADMINISTERED SCH527123 REVERSED HINDPAW ALLODYNIA AFTER TBI. MOST OF THE SPINAL CXCR2 APPEARED TO BE EXPRESSED BY SPINAL CORD NEURONS. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION EXPERIMENTS DEMONSTRATED TBI-ENHANCED ASSOCIATION OF THE CXCR2 PROMOTER WITH ACETYLATED-H3K9 HISTONE PROTEIN THAT WAS ALSO REVERSIBLE USING ANACARDIC ACID. TAKEN TOGETHER, OUR FINDINGS SUGGESTED THAT TBI CAUSES THE UPREGULATION OF SPINAL CXCR2 THROUGH AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM ULTIMATELY SUPPORTING NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION. THE USE OF CXCR2 ANTAGONISTS MAY, THEREFORE, BE USEFUL IN PAIN RESULTING FROM TBI.	2017