1 2452 142 EPIGENETIC SUPPRESSION OF POTASSIUM-CHLORIDE CO-TRANSPORTER 2 EXPRESSION IN INFLAMMATORY PAIN INDUCED BY COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA). BACKGROUND: MULTIPLE MECHANISMS CONTRIBUTE TO THE STIMULUS-EVOKED PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY THAT MAY BE EXPERIENCED AFTER PERIPHERAL INFLAMMATION. PERSISTENT PATHOLOGICAL STIMULI IN MANY PAIN CONDITIONS AFFECT THE EXPRESSION OF CERTAIN GENES THROUGH EPIGENETIC ALTERNATIONS. THE MAIN PURPOSE OF OUR STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION ON POTASSIUM-CHLORIDE CO-TRANSPORTER 2 (KCC2) GENE EXPRESSION IN THE PERSISTENCE OF INFLAMMATORY PAIN. METHODS: PERSISTENT INFLAMMATORY PAIN WAS INDUCED THROUGH THE INJECTION OF COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA) IN THE LEFT HIND PAW OF RATS. ACETYL-HISTONE H3 AND H4 LEVEL WAS DETERMINED BY CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN. PAIN BEHAVIOUR AND INHIBITORY SYNAPTIC FUNCTION OF SPINAL CORD WERE DETERMINED BEFORE AND AFTER CFA INJECTION. KCC2 EXPRESSION WAS DETERMINED BY REAL TIME RT-PCR AND WESTERN BLOT. INTRATHECAL KCC2 SIRNA (2 MUG PER 10 MUL PER RAT) OR HDAC INHIBITOR (10 MUG PER 10 MUL PER RAT) WAS INJECTED ONCE DAILY FOR 3 DAYS BEFORE CFA INJECTION. RESULTS: PERSISTENT INFLAMMATORY PAIN EPIGENETICALLY SUPPRESSED KCC2 EXPRESSION THROUGH HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC)-MEDIATED HISTONE HYPOACETYLATION, RESULTING IN DECREASED INHIBITORY SIGNALLING EFFICACY. KCC2 KNOCK-DOWN CAUSED BY INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF KCC2 SIRNA IN NAIVE RATS REDUCED KCC2 EXPRESSION IN THE SPINAL CORD, LEADING TO SENSITIZED PAIN BEHAVIOURS AND IMPAIRED INHIBITORY SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION IN THEIR SPINAL CORDS. MOREOVER, INTRATHECAL HDAC INHIBITOR INJECTION IN CFA RATS INCREASED KCC2 EXPRESSION, PARTIALLY RESTORING THE SPINAL INHIBITORY SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION AND RELIEVING THE SENSITIZED PAIN BEHAVIOUR. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE TRANSCRIPTION OF SPINAL KCC2 IS REGULATED BY HISTONE ACETYLATION EPIGENETICALLY FOLLOWING CFA. SIGNIFICANCE: PERSISTENT PAIN SUPPRESSES KCC2 EXPRESSION THROUGH HDAC-MEDIATED HISTONE HYPOACETYLATION AND CONSEQUENTLY IMPAIRS THE INHIBITORY FUNCTION OF INHIBITORY INTERNEURONS. DRUGS SUCH AS HDAC INHIBITORS THAT SUPPRESS THE INFLUENCES OF PERSISTENT PAIN ON THE EXPRESSION OF KCC2 MAY SERVE AS A NOVEL ANALGESIC. 2017 2 2365 50 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF SPINAL CXCR2 SIGNALING IN INCISIONAL HYPERSENSITIVITY IN MICE. BACKGROUND: THE REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION IN NOCICEPTIVE PATHWAYS CONTRIBUTES TO THE INDUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF PAIN SENSITIZATION. HISTONE ACETYLATION IS A KEY EPIGENETIC MECHANISM CONTROLLING CHROMATIN STRUCTURE AND GENE EXPRESSION. CHEMOKINE CC MOTIF RECEPTOR 2 (CXCR2) IS A PROINFLAMMATORY RECEPTOR IMPLICATED IN NEUROPATHIC AND INFLAMMATORY PAIN AND IS KNOWN TO BE REGULATED BY HISTONE ACETYLATION IN SOME SETTINGS. THE AUTHORS SOUGHT TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF HISTONE ACETYLATION ON SPINAL CXCR2 SIGNALING AFTER INCISION. METHODS: GROUPS OF 5-8 MICE UNDERWENT HIND PAW INCISION. SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID AND ANACARDIC ACID WERE USED TO INHIBIT HISTONE DEACETYLASE AND HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE, RESPECTIVELY. BEHAVIORAL MEASURES OF THERMAL AND MECHANICAL SENSITIZATION AS WELL AS HYPERALGESIC PRIMING WERE USED. BOTH MESSAGE RNA QUANTIFICATION AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ANALYSIS WERE USED TO STUDY THE REGULATION OF CXCR2 AND LIGAND EXPRESSION. FINALLY, THE SELECTIVE CXCR2 ANTAGONIST SB225002 WAS ADMINISTERED INTRATHECALLY TO REVEAL THE FUNCTION OF SPINAL CXCR2 RECEPTORS AFTER HIND PAW INCISION. RESULTS: SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID SIGNIFICANTLY EXACERBATED MECHANICAL SENSITIZATION AFTER INCISION. CONVERSELY, ANACARDIC ACID REDUCED INCISIONAL SENSITIZATION AND ALSO ATTENUATED INCISION-INDUCED HYPERALGESIC PRIMING. OVERALL, ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 AT LYSINE 9 WAS INCREASED IN SPINAL CORD TISSUES AFTER INCISION, AND ENHANCED ASSOCIATION OF ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 AT LYSINE 9 WITH THE PROMOTER REGIONS OF CXCR2 AND KERATINOCYTE-DERIVED CHEMOKINE (CXCL1) WAS OBSERVED AS WELL. BLOCKING CXCR2 REVERSED MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AFTER HIND PAW INCISION. CONCLUSIONS: HISTONE MODIFICATION IS AN IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC MECHANISM REGULATING INCISION-INDUCED NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION. THE SPINAL CXCR2 SIGNALING PATHWAY IS ONE EPIGENETICALLY REGULATED PATHWAY CONTROLLING EARLY AND LATENT SENSITIZATION AFTER INCISION. 2013 3 5328 74 PULSED RADIOFREQUENCY ATTENUATES COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT-INDUCED EPIGENETIC SUPPRESSION OF POTASSIUM CHLORIDE COTRANSPORTER 2 EXPRESSION. BACKGROUND: PULSED RADIOFREQUENCY (PRF) TREATMENT OFFERS PAIN RELIEF FOR PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM CHRONIC PAIN WHO DO NOT RESPOND WELL TO CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS. WE TESTED WHETHER PRF TREATMENT ATTENUATED COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA)-INDUCED INFLAMMATORY PAIN. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF POTASSIUM-CHLORIDE COTRANSPORTER 2 (KCC2) GENE EXPRESSION WAS EXAMINED TO ELUCIDATE THE POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTING MECHANISM. METHODS: MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS WERE INJECTED WITH CFA INTO THE PLANTAR SURFACE OF THE LEFT HIND PAW TO INDUCE INFLAMMATION. PRF (20 MINUTES OF 500-KHZ RF PULSES, DELIVERED AT A RATE OF 2 HZ, MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE 42 MASCULINEC) WAS DELIVERED TO THE L5 AND L6 ANTERIOR PRIMARY RAMUS JUST DISTAL TO THE INTERVERTEBRAL FORAMEN OF ADULT CFA OR SALINE RATS. THE HIND PAW WITHDRAWAL THRESHOLD TO VON FREY FILAMENT STIMULI AND WITHDRAWAL LATENCY TO RADIANT HEAT WERE DETERMINED BEFORE AND AFTER CFA. ACETYL-HISTONE H3 AND H4 WAS DETERMINED BY CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION IN SPINAL DORSAL HORN. KCC2 EXPRESSION WAS DETERMINED BY WESTERN BLOT. INHIBITORY SYNAPTIC FUNCTION WAS EVALUATED BY PATCH CLAMP IN LAMINA II NEURONS. RESULTS: KCC2 GENE EXPRESSION WAS SUPPRESSED THROUGH HISTONE HYPOACETYLATION, RESULTING IN DECREASED EFFICACY OF GABAERGIC SIGNALING IN CFA RATS. PRF INCREASED HISTONE ACETYLATION AND KCC2 EXPRESSION, PARTIALLY RESTORED THE GABA SYNAPTIC FUNCTION, AND RELIEVED SENSITIZED PAIN BEHAVIOR. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT PRF MIGHT BE AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY FOR INFLAMMATORY PAIN. ONE OF THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS IS THROUGH MODIFICATION OF KCC2, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT DETERMINANT FOR THE EFFICACY OF INHIBITORY NEUROTRANSMISSION IN THE SPINAL CORD, AND ITS EXPRESSION LEVELS ARE REGULATED BY HISTONE ACETYLATION EPIGENETICALLY FOLLOWING INFLAMMATION. 2017 4 1120 50 COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS IN ATTENUATING INFLAMMATORY PAIN IN RATS. HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS (HDACIS), WHICH INTERFERE WITH THE EPIGENETIC PROCESS OF HISTONE ACETYLATION, HAVE SHOWN ANALGESIC EFFECTS IN ANIMAL MODELS OF PERSISTENT PAIN. THE HDAC FAMILY COMPRISES 18 GENES; HOWEVER, THE DIFFERENT EFFECTS OF DISTINCT CLASSES OF HDACIS ON PAIN RELIEF REMAIN UNCLEAR. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF THESE HDACIS ON ATTENUATING THERMAL HYPERALGESIA IN PERSISTENT INFLAMMATORY PAIN. PERSISTENT INFLAMMATORY PAIN WAS INDUCED BY INJECTING COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA) INTO THE LEFT HIND PAW OF RATS. THEN, HDACIS TARGETING CLASS I (ENTINOSTAT (MS-275)) AND CLASS IIA (SODIUM BUTYRATE, VALPROIC ACID (VPA), AND 4-PHENYLBUTYRIC ACID (4-PBA)), OR CLASS II (SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDOXAMIC ACID (SAHA), TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA), AND DACINOSTAT (LAQ824)) WERE ADMINISTERED INTRAPERITONEALLY ONCE DAILY FOR 3 OR 4 DAYS. WE FOUND THAT THE INJECTION OF SAHA ONCE A DAY FOR 3 DAYS SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED CFA-INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA FROM DAY 4 AND LASTED 7 DAYS. IN COMPARISON WITH SAHA, SUPPRESSION OF HYPERALGESIA BY 4-PBA PEAKED ON DAY 2, WHEREAS THAT BY MS-275 OCCURRED ON DAYS 5 AND 6. FATIGUE WAS A SERIOUS SIDE EFFECT SEEN WITH MS-275. THESE FINDINGS WILL BE BENEFICIAL FOR OPTIMIZING THE SELECTION OF SPECIFIC HDACIS IN MEDICAL FIELDS SUCH AS PAIN MEDICINE AND NEUROPSYCHIATRY. 2019 5 2751 51 EXPRESSION OF ACETYL-HISTONE H3 AND ACETYL-HISTONE H4 IN DORSAL ROOT GANGLION AND SPINAL DORSAL HORN IN RAT CHRONIC PAIN MODELS. AIMS: HISTONE ACETYLATION AND DEACETYLATION ARE TWO HISTONE POSTTRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS THAT ARE USUALLY CONTROLLED BY HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASES (HATS) AND HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS). ALTHOUGH HATS OR HDACS INHIBITORS COULD RELIEVE PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITIES IN CHRONIC PAIN ANIMAL MODELS, IT IS NOT CLEAR ON THE EXPRESSION OF GLOBAL HISTONE ACETYLATION IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) OR SPINAL DORSAL HORN IN CHRONIC PAIN CONDITIONS. MAIN METHODS: A SPINAL NERVE LIGATION (SNL)-INDUCED NEUROPATHIC PAIN MODEL AND A COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA)-INDUCED INFLAMMATORY PAIN MODEL IN RATS WERE USED TO EXAMINE THE EXPRESSION OF TOTAL ACETYL-HISTONE H3 (ACH3) AND TOTAL ACETYL-HISTONE H4 (ACH4) BY IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE OR WESTERN BLOT. KEY FINDINGS: ACH3 AND ACH4 NOT ONLY LOCALIZED IN NEURONAL NUCLEI, BUT ALSO IN NUCLEI OF GLIAL CELLS IN THE DRG. UNILATERAL SNL INDUCED THE INCREASE OF ACH3 AND ACH4 EXPRESSION IN THE INJURED LUMBAR 5 (L5) DRG, BUT NOT IN THE UNINJURED L5 DRG OR THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN, WHILE UNILATERAL INTRAPLANTAR INJECTION OF CFA INCREASED ACH3 AND ACH4 EXPRESSION IN THE IPSILATERAL L4/5 SPINAL DORSAL HORN, BUT NOT IN THE L4/5 DRG. SIGNIFICANCE: THESE RESULTS PROVIDE MORPHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR GLOBAL HISTONE ACETYLATION EXPRESSION IN THE DRG AND SPINAL CORD AND INDICATE THE DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION IN THE DRG AND SPINAL DORSAL HORN IN DIFFERENT CHRONIC PAIN MODELS. MORE PRECISE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF HISTONE ACETYLATION ON THE TARGET GENES NEED TO BE REVEALED. 2018 6 6612 41 ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE ENHANCES THE ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF MORPHINE IN PTX-TREATED RATS: REGULATION ON GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. OBJECTIVE: EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING MAY HAVE A POSSIBLE ROLE IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN DEVELOPMENT; THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE GLOBAL PATTERNS OF LYSINE HISTONE MODIFICATION. IN THIS SERIAL STUDY WE ANALYZED THE LEVELS OF HISTONE 3 LYSINE 4 MONOMETHYLATION, HISTONE 3 LYSINE 4 DIMETHYLATION, AND HISTONE 3 LYSINE 9 TRIMETHYLATION IN PERTUSSIS TOXIN (PTX)-INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIC RAT SPINAL CORDS. METHODS: MALE WISTAR RATS IMPLANTED WITH AN INTRATHECAL CATHETER RECEIVED A SINGLE INTRATHECAL PTX (1 MUG IN 5 MUL SALINE) INJECTION. FOUR DAYS LATER, THEY WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE EITHER A SINGLE INJECTION OF SALINE, OR ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE (15 NG IN 5 MUL SALINE), FOLLOWED BY MORPHINE (10 MUG IN 5 MUL SALINE) INJECTION 30 MINUTES LATER. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT PTX INJECTION INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION IN THE SPINAL CORDS. INTRATHECAL MORPHINE ALONE DID NOT AFFECT THE THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. IN CONTRAST, INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE PLUS MORPHINE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED THE PTX-INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND DOWN-REGULATED THE GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE MIGHT BE CLINICAL VALUABLE FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN MANAGEMENT VIA REGULATING GLOBAL HISTONE MODIFICATION. 2012 7 4851 43 OPIOIDS ENHANCE CXCL1 EXPRESSION AND FUNCTION AFTER INCISION IN MICE. CHRONIC OPIOID CONSUMPTION INCREASES POSTOPERATIVE PAIN. EPIGENETIC CHANGES RELATED TO CHRONIC OPIOID USE AND SURGICAL INCISION MAY BE PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS ENHANCEMENT. THE CXCL1/CXCR2 SIGNALING PATHWAY, IMPLICATED IN SEVERAL PAIN MODELS, IS KNOWN TO BE EPIGENETICALLY REGULATED VIA HISTONE ACETYLATION. THE CURRENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF CXCL1/CXCR2 SIGNALING IN OPIOID-ENHANCED INCISIONAL SENSITIZATION AND TO ELUCIDATE THE POSSIBLE EPIGENETIC MECHANISM UNDERLYING CXCL1/CXCR2 PATHWAY-MEDIATED REGULATION OF NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION IN MICE. CHRONIC MORPHINE TREATMENT GENERATED MECHANICAL AND THERMAL NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION AND ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY EXACERBATED INCISION-INDUCED MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA. PERIPHERAL BUT NOT CENTRAL MESSENGER RNA LEVELS OF CXCL1 AND CXCR2 WERE INCREASED AFTER INCISION. THE SOURCE OF PERIPHERAL CXCL1 APPEARED TO BE WOUND AREA NEUTROPHILS. HISTONE H3 SUBUNIT ACETYLATED AT THE LYSINE 9 POSITION (ACH3K9) WAS INCREASED IN INFILTRATING DERMAL NEUTROPHILS AFTER INCISION AND WAS FURTHER INCREASED IN MICE WITH CHRONIC MORPHINE TREATMENT. THE ASSOCIATION OF ACH3K9 WITH THE PROMOTER REGION OF CXCL1 WAS ENHANCED IN MICE AFTER CHRONIC MORPHINE TREATMENT. THE INCREASE IN CXCL1 NEAR WOUNDS CAUSED BY CHRONIC MORPHINE PRETREATMENT WAS MIMICKED BY PHARMACOLOGIC INHIBITION OF HISTONE DEACETYLATION. FINALLY, LOCAL INJECTION OF CXCL1 INDUCED MECHANICAL SENSITIVITY IN NAIVE MICE, WHEREAS BLOCKING CXCR2 REVERSED MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AFTER HIND PAW INCISION. PERSPECTIVE: PERIPHERAL CXCL1/CXCR2 SIGNALING HELPS TO CONTROL NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION AFTER INCISION, AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF CXCL1 EXPRESSION EXPLAINS IN PART OPIOID-ENHANCED INCISIONAL ALLODYNIA IN MICE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT TARGETING CXCL1/CXCR2 SIGNALING MAY BE USEFUL IN TREATING NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION, PARTICULARLY FOR POSTOPERATIVE PAIN IN CHRONIC OPIOID-CONSUMING PATIENTS. 2014 8 4172 40 MELATONIN IMPEDES TET1-DEPENDENT MGLUR5 PROMOTER DEMETHYLATION TO RELIEVE PAIN. MELATONIN (N-ACETYL-5-METHOXYTRYPTAMINE)/MT2 RECEPTOR-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION REPRESENTS A NOVEL PATHWAY IN THE TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. BECAUSE SPINAL TEN-ELEVEN TRANSLOCATION METHYLCYTOSINE DIOXYGENASE 1 (TET1)-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC DEMETHYLATION HAS RECENTLY BEEN LINKED TO PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT MELATONIN/MT2-DEPENDENT ANALGESIA INVOLVES SPINAL TET1-DEPENDENT DEMETHYLATION. HERE, WE SHOWED THAT SPINAL TET1 GENE TRANSFER BY INTRATHECAL DELIVERY OF TET1-ENCODING VECTORS TO NAIVE RATS PRODUCED PROFOUND AND LONG-LASTING NOCICEPTIVE HYPERSENSITIVITY. IN ADDITION, ENHANCED TET1 EXPRESSION, TET1-METABOTROPIC GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR SUBTYPE 5 (MGLUR5) PROMOTER COUPLING, DEMETHYLATION AT THE MGLUR5 PROMOTER, AND MGLUR5 EXPRESSION IN DORSAL HORN NEURONS WERE OBSERVED. RATS SUBJECTED TO SPINAL NERVE LIGATION AND INTRAPLANTAR COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT INJECTION DISPLAYED TACTILE ALLODYNIA AND BEHAVIORAL HYPERALGESIA ASSOCIATED WITH SIMILAR CHANGES IN THE DORSAL HORN. NOTABLY, INTRATHECAL MELATONIN INJECTION REVERSED THE PROTEIN EXPRESSION, PROTEIN-PROMOTER COUPLING, PROMOTER DEMETHYLATION, AND PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY INDUCED BY TET1 GENE TRANSFER, SPINAL NERVE LIGATION, AND INTRAPLANTAR COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT INJECTION. ALL THE EFFECTS CAUSED BY MELATONIN WERE BLOCKED BY PRETREATMENT WITH A MT2 RECEPTOR-SELECTIVE ANTAGONIST. IN CONCLUSION, MELATONIN RELIEVES PAIN BY IMPEDING TET1-DEPENDENT DEMETHYLATION OF MGLUR5 IN DORSAL HORN NEURONS THROUGH THE MT2 RECEPTOR. OUR FINDINGS LINK MELATONIN/MT2 SIGNALING TO TET1-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC DEMETHYLATION OF NOCICEPTIVE GENES FOR THE FIRST TIME AND SUGGEST MELATONIN AS A PROMISING THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF PAIN. 2017 9 3721 59 INHIBITION OF CLASS II HISTONE DEACETYLASES IN THE SPINAL CORD ATTENUATES INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA. BACKGROUND: SEVERAL CLASSES OF HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) ARE EXPRESSED IN THE SPINAL CORD THAT IS A CRITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE NOCICEPTIVE PATHWAY. HDAC-REGULATED HISTONE ACETYLATION IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF CHROMATIN REMODELING LEADING TO EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE TRANSCRIPTION. TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF HISTONE ACETYLATION IN EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF PATHOLOGICAL PAIN, WE HAVE STUDIED THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT CLASSES OF HDACS IN THE SPINAL CORD ON INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA INDUCED BY COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA). RESULTS: WE INTRATHECALLY APPLIED INHIBITORS SPECIFIC TO DIFFERENT CLASSES OF HDACS AND EVALUATED THEIR IMPACT ON INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA. PRE-INJECTED INHIBITORS TARGETING CLASS I AS WELL AS II (SAHA, TSA, LAQ824) OR IIA (VPA, 4-PB) HDACS SIGNIFICANTLY DELAYED THE THERMAL HYPERALGESIA INDUCED BY UNILATERAL CFA INJECTION IN THE HINDPAW. EXISTING HYPERALGESIA INDUCED BY CFA WAS ALSO ATTENUATED BY THE HDAC INHIBITORS (HDACIS). IN CONTRAST, THESE INHIBITORS DID NOT INTERFERE WITH THE THERMAL RESPONSE EITHER IN NAIVE ANIMALS, OR ON THE CONTRALATERAL SIDE OF INFLAMED ANIMALS. INTERESTINGLY, MS-275 THAT SPECIFICALLY INHIBITS CLASS I HDACS FAILED TO ALTER THE HYPERALGESIA ALTHOUGH IT INCREASED HISTONE 3 ACETYLATION IN THE SPINAL CORD AS SAHA DID. USING IMMUNOBLOT ANALYSIS, WE FURTHER FOUND THAT THE LEVELS OF CLASS IIA HDAC MEMBERS (HDAC4, 5, 7, 9) IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN WERE UPREGULATED FOLLOWING CFA INJECTION WHILE THOSE OF CLASS I HDAC MEMBERS (HDAC1, 2, 3) REMAINED STABLE OR WERE SLIGHTLY REDUCED. CONCLUSIONS: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT ACTIVITY OF CLASS II HDACS IN THE SPINAL CORD IS CRITICAL TO THE INDUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA INDUCED BY CFA, WHILE ACTIVITY OF CLASS I HDACS MAY BE UNNECESSARY. COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF HDACIS SPECIFIC TO CLASS II AND IIA AS WELL AS THE EXPRESSION PATTERN OF DIFFERENT HDACS IN THE SPINAL CORD IN RESPONSE TO CFA SUGGESTS THAT THE MEMBERS OF CLASS IIA HDACS MAY BE POTENTIAL TARGETS FOR ATTENUATING PERSISTENT INFLAMMATORY PAIN. 2010 10 2482 40 EPIGENETIC UPREGULATION OF METABOTROPIC GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR 2 IN THE SPINAL CORD ATTENUATES OESTROGEN-INDUCED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY. OBJECTIVE: EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ARE POTENTIAL TARGETS TO RELIEVE SOMATIC PAIN. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN WHETHER EPIGENETIC REGULATION INTERFERES WITH VISCERAL PAIN. PREVIOUS STUDIES SHOW THAT OESTROGEN FACILITATES VISCERAL PAIN. THIS STUDY AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER HISTONE HYPERACETYLATION IN THE SPINAL CORD COULD ATTENUATE OESTROGEN-FACILITATED VISCERAL PAIN. DESIGN: THE EFFECT OF THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA) ON THE MAGNITUDE OF THE VISCEROMOTOR RESPONSE (VMR) TO COLORECTAL DISTENTION WAS EXAMINED IN OVARIECTOMISED RATS WITH/WITHOUT OESTROGEN REPLACEMENT. AN ADDITIONAL INTERACTION WITH THE METABOTROPIC GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR 2/3 (MGLUR2/3) ANTAGONIST LY341495 WAS TESTED. THE LEVELS OF ACETYLATED HISTONE AND MGLUR2 MRNA AND PROTEIN WERE ANALYSED. THE BINDING OF ACETYLATED H3 AND OESTROGEN RECEPTOR ALPHA (ERALPHA) TO THE GRM2 PROMOTER WAS MEASURED BY CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION COUPLED WITH QPCR. RESULTS: IN OVARIECTOMISED RATS, 17BETA-ESTRADIOL (E2), BUT NOT SAFFLOWER OIL, INCREASED THE MAGNITUDE OF THE VMR TO COLORECTAL DISTENTION. SAHA ATTENUATED THE E2-FACILITATED VMR, BUT HAD NO EFFECT IN SAFFLOWER OIL-TREATED RATS. SUBSEQUENT SPINAL ADMINISTRATION OF LY341495 REVERSED THE ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF SAHA IN E2 RATS. IN ADDITION, SAHA INCREASED MGLUR2 MRNA AND PROTEIN IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN FOLLOWING E2, BUT NOT VEHICLE, TREATMENT. IN CONTRAST, NEITHER E2 NOR SAHA ALONE ALTERED MGLUR2 MRNA. SAHA INCREASED BINDING OF H3K9AC AND ERALPHA TO THE SAME REGIONS OF THE GRM2 PROMOTER IN E2-SAHA-TREATED ANIMALS. CONCLUSIONS: HISTONE HYPERACETYLATION IN THE SPINAL CORD ATTENUATES THE PRONOCICEPTIVE EFFECTS OF OESTROGEN ON VISCERAL SENSITIVITY, SUGGESTING THAT EPIGENETIC REGULATION MAY BE A POTENTIAL APPROACH TO RELIEVE VISCERAL PAIN. 2015 11 2363 45 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF SPINAL CORD GENE EXPRESSION CONTRIBUTES TO ENHANCED POSTOPERATIVE PAIN AND ANALGESIC TOLERANCE SUBSEQUENT TO CONTINUOUS OPIOID EXPOSURE. BACKGROUND: OPIOIDS HAVE BECOME THE MAINSTAY FOR TREATMENT OF MODERATE TO SEVERE PAIN AND ARE COMMONLY USED TO TREAT SURGICAL PAIN. WHILE OPIOID ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN SHOWN TO CAUSE OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA AND TOLERANCE, INTERACTIONS BETWEEN OPIOID ADMINISTRATION AND SURGERY WITH RESPECT TO THESE PROBLEMATIC ADAPTATIONS HAVE SCARCELY BEEN ADDRESSED. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS OPIOIDS AND NOCICEPTIVE SIGNALING MAY CONVERGE ON EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN SPINAL CORD TO ENHANCE OR PROLONG NEUROPLASTIC CHANGES. EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF BDNF (BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR) AND PDYN (PRODYNORPHIN) GENES MAY BE INVOLVED. RESULTS: FOUR DAYS OF ASCENDING DOSES OF MORPHINE TREATMENT CAUSED OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA AND REDUCED OPIOID ANALGESIC EFFICACY IN MICE. BOTH OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA AND THE REDUCED OPIOID ANALGESIC EFFICACY WERE ENHANCED IN MICE THAT RECEIVED HINDPAW INCISIONS. THE EXPRESSION OF BDNF AND PDYN (QPCR) WAS INCREASED AFTER MORPHINE TREATMENT AND INCISION. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAYS DEMONSTRATED THAT THE PDYN AND BDNF PROMOTERS WERE MORE STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH ACETYLATED H3K9 AFTER MORPHINE PLUS INCISION THAN IN THE MORPHINE OR INCISION ALONE GROUPS. SELECTIVE TROPOMYOSIN-RELATED KINASE B (ANA-12) AND KAPPA-OPIOID RECEPTOR (NOR-BINALTORPHIMINE) ANTAGONISTS WERE ADMINISTERED INTRATHECALLY, BOTH REDUCED HYPERALGESIA ONE OR THREE DAYS AFTER SURGERY. ADMINISTRATION OF ANA-12 OR NOR-BINALTORPHIMINE ATTENUATED THE DECREASED MORPHINE ANALGESIC EFFICACY ON DAY 1, BUT ONLY NOR-BINALTORPHIMINE WAS EFFECTIVE ON DAY 3 AFTER INCISION IN OPIOID-EXPOSED GROUP. COADMINISTRATION OF HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR ANACARDIC ACID DAILY WITH MORPHINE BLOCKED THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA AND ATTENUATED INCISION-ENHANCED HYPERALGESIA IN MORPHINE-TREATED MICE. ANACARDIC ACID HAD SIMILAR EFFECTS ON ANALGESIC TOLERANCE, SHOWING THE INVOLVEMENT OF HISTONE ACETYLATION IN THE INTERACTIONS DETECTED. CONCLUSIONS: SPINAL EPIGENETIC CHANGES INVOLVING BDNF AND PDYN MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ENHANCED POSTOPERATIVE NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION AND ANALGESIC TOLERANCE OBSERVED AFTER CONTINUOUS OPIOID EXPOSURE. TREATMENTS BLOCKING THE EPIGENETICALLY MEDIATED UP-REGULATION OF THESE GENES OR ADMINISTRATION OF TRKB OR KAPPA-OPIOID RECEPTOR ANTAGONISTS MAY IMPROVE THE CLINICAL UTILITY OF OPIOIDS, PARTICULARLY AFTER SURGERY. 2016 12 2745 39 EXPRESS: HISTONE HYPERACETYLATION MODULATES SPINAL TYPE II METABOTROPIC GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR ALLEVIATING STRESS-INDUCED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY IN FEMALE RATS. STRESS IS OFTEN A TRIGGER TO EXACERBATE CHRONIC PAIN INCLUDING VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME, A FEMALE PREDOMINANT FUNCTIONAL BOWEL DISORDER. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS THAT MEDIATE STRESS RESPONSES ARE A POTENTIAL TARGET TO INTERFERE WITH VISCERAL PAIN. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF A HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR, SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID, ON VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY INDUCED BY A SUBCHRONIC STRESSOR IN FEMALE RATS AND TO INVESTIGATE THE INVOLVEMENT OF SPINAL GLUTAMATE RECEPTORS. THREE DAILY SESSIONS OF FORCED SWIM INDUCED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY. INTRATHECAL SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID PREVENTED OR REVERSED THE STRESS-INDUCED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY, INCREASED SPINAL HISTONE 3 ACETYLATION AND INCREASED MGLUR2 AND MGLUR3 EXPRESSION. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (CHIP) ANALYSIS REVEALED ENRICHMENT OF H3K9AC AND H3K18AC AT SEVERAL PROMOTER GRM2 AND GRM3 REGIONS. THE MGLUR2/3 ANTAGONIST LY341495 REVERSED THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID ON THE STRESS-INDUCED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY. IN SURPRISING CONTRAST, STRESS AND/OR SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID HAD NO EFFECT ON SPINAL NMDA RECEPTOR EXPRESSION OR FUNCTION. THESE DATA REVEAL HISTONE MODIFICATION MODULATES MGLUR2/3 EXPRESSION IN THE SPINAL CORD TO ATTENUATE STRESSINDUCED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY. HDAC INHIBITORS MAY PROVIDE A POTENTIAL APPROACH TO RELIEVE VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME. 2016 13 1920 50 ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT PREVENTS STRESS-INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION OF GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR AND CORTICOTROPHIN RELEASING HORMONE IN THE CENTRAL NUCLEUS OF THE AMYGDALA TO INHIBIT VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY. INTRODUCTION: STRESS IS A KNOWN TRIGGER FOR THE SYMPTOMS OF IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS), A GASTROINTESTINAL (GI) DISORDER THAT PRESENTS WITH ABNORMAL BOWEL HABITS AND ABDOMINAL PAIN DUE TO VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY. WHILE BEHAVIORAL THERAPIES HAVE BEEN USED TO ATTENUATE IBS SYMPTOMS, THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS BY WHICH THESE THERAPIES INTERACT WITH STRESS-INDUCED PATHOLOGY REMAINS TO BE DELINEATED. HERE WE USE A RAT MODEL TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT (EE) INHIBITS STRESS-INDUCED CHANGES WITHIN THE BRAIN-GUT AXIS TO PREVENT VISCERAL AND SOMATIC HYPERSENSITIVITY AND COLONIC HYPERPERMEABILITY. METHODS: FEMALE RATS (N = 8/GROUP) WERE HOUSED IN EE ONE WEEK BEFORE AND ONE WEEK DURING EXPOSURE TO WATER AVOIDANCE STRESS (WAS) WHILE CONTROLS WERE HOUSED IN STANDARD CAGES (SH). ONE DAY AFTER THE FINAL WAS EXPOSURE, COLONIC AND SOMATIC SENSITIVITY WERE ASSESSED BY THE VISCEROMOTOR RESPONSE (VMR) TO COLORECTAL DISTENSION (CRD) AND WITHDRAWAL THRESHOLD ELICITED BY AN ELECTRONIC VON FREY ON THE HIND PAW OF THE RATS RESPECTIVELY. ALL RATS WERE RETURNED TO SH FOR 3 WEEKS BEFORE COLONIC AND SOMATIC SENSITIVITY WERE REASSESSED ON DAY 28. THE RATS WERE THEN IMMEDIATELY EUTHANIZED AND THE SPINAL CORD WAS COLLECTED TO ASSESS CHANGES IN NEURONAL ACTIVATION (ASSESSED VIA ERK PHOSPHORYLATION) IN RESPONSE TO NOXIOUS CRD. A SEPARATE COHORT OF ANIMALS (N = 8/GROUP) THAT DID NOT UNDERGO BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENTS WAS EUTHANIZED THE DAY AFTER THE FINAL WAS EXPOSURE AND THE CENTRAL NUCLEUS OF THE AMYGDALA (CEA) WAS COLLECTED TO INVESTIGATE WAS AND EE INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES AT THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) AND CORTICOTROPHIN RELEASING HORMONE (CRH) PROMOTER. THE COLON FROM THESE RATS WAS ALSO COLLECTED TO ASSESS COLONIC PERMEABILITY VIA CHANGES IN TRANSEPITHELIAL ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE (TEER) IN VITRO. RESULTS: EXPOSURE TO STRESS PERSISTENTLY INCREASED VMR TO CRD (P < 0.01) AND DECREASED THE HIND PAW WITHDRAWAL THRESHOLD (P < 0.001) IN FEMALE RATS. WAS ALSO DECREASED TEER IN THE COLON TISSUE OF FEMALE RATS (P = 0.05). IN THE CEA, WAS INDUCED A DECREASE IN HISTONE ACETYLATION AT THE GR PROMOTER BUT INCREASED HISTONE ACETYLATION AT THE CRH PROMOTER AND REDUCED GR-CRH INTERACTIONS IN THE CEA. ANALYSIS OF THE SPINAL CORD SHOWED THAT WAS INCREASED CRD-EVOKED ERK PHOSPHORYLATION IN THE DORSAL HORN. EXPOSURE TO EE PREVENTED WAS-INDUCED CHANGES IN THE CEA, DORSAL HORN AND COLON RESPECTIVELY TO PREVENT VISCERAL AND SOMATIC HYPERSENSITIVITY. CONCLUSION: OUR DATA REVEALS THAT BEHAVIORAL THERAPIES CAN PRODUCE LONG LASTING MOLECULAR AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT CAN PREVENT STRESS-INDUCED PATHOLOGIES EVEN AFTER COMPLETION OF THE THERAPY. THESE RESULTS HIGHLIGHT THE POTENTIAL MECHANISMS BY WHICH BEHAVIORAL THERAPIES MAY AMELIORATE VISCERAL PAIN ASSOCIATED STRESS-RELATED PATHOLOGIES SUCH AS THE IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME. 2021 14 3331 39 HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR SUBERANILOHYDROXAMIC ACID TREATMENT REVERSES HYPOSENSITIVITY TO GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID IN THE VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA DURING ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL. BACKGROUND: THE VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA (VTA) IS IMPORTANT FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED REWARD AND REINFORCEMENT. MOUSE VTA NEURONS ARE HYPOSENSITIVE TO GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID (GABA) DURING ETHANOL (ETOH) WITHDRAWAL, AND GABA RESPONSIVENESS IS NORMALIZED BY IN VITRO TREATMENT WITH HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS (HDACI). THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF A SYSTEMICALLY ADMINISTERED HDACI, SUBERANILOHYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA) ON GABA SENSITIVITY, AND RELATED MOLECULAR CHANGES IN VTA NEURONS DURING WITHDRAWAL AFTER CHRONIC ETOH INTAKE IN RATS. METHODS: SPRAGUE DAWLEY MALE ADULT RATS WERE FED WITH LIEBER-DECARLI DIET (9% ETOH OR CONTROL DIET) FOR 16 DAYS. EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS INCLUDED CONTROL DIET-FED AND ETOH DIET-FED (0- OR 24-HOUR WITHDRAWAL) RATS TREATED WITH EITHER SAHA OR VEHICLE INJECTION. SINGLE-UNIT RECORDINGS WERE USED TO MEASURE THE RESPONSE OF VTA NEURONS TO GABA. IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY WAS PERFORMED TO EXAMINE LEVELS OF HDAC2, ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 LYSINE 9 (ACH3K9), AND GABA(A) RECEPTOR ALPHA1 AND ALPHA5 SUBUNITS IN THE VTA; QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WAS PERFORMED TO EXAMINE THE MRNA LEVELS OF HDAC2 AND GABA(A) RECEPTOR SUBUNITS. RESULTS: VTA NEURONS FROM THE WITHDRAWAL GROUP EXHIBITED GABA HYPOSENSITIVITY. IN VIVO SAHA TREATMENT 2 HOURS BEFORE SACRIFICE NORMALIZED THE SENSITIVITY OF VTA NEURONS TO GABA. ETOH WITHDRAWAL WAS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED HDAC2 AND DECREASED ACH3K9 PROTEIN LEVELS; SAHA TREATMENT NORMALIZED ACH3K9 LEVELS. INTERESTINGLY, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WAS OBSERVED IN THE MRNA LEVELS OF HDAC2. THE MRNA LEVELS, BUT NOT PROTEIN LEVELS, OF GABA(A) RECEPTOR ALPHA1 AND ALPHA5 SUBUNITS WERE INCREASED DURING WITHDRAWAL. CONCLUSIONS: WITHDRAWAL FROM CHRONIC ETOH EXPOSURE RESULTS IN A DECREASE IN GABA-MEDIATED INHIBITION, AND THIS GABA HYPOSENSITIVITY IS NORMALIZED BY IN VIVO SAHA TREATMENT. DISRUPTION OF SIGNALING IN THE VTA PRODUCED BY ALTERATION OF GABA NEUROTRANSMISSION COULD BE 1 NEUROADAPTIVE PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS LEADING TO CRAVING AND RELAPSE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT HDACI PHARMACOTHERAPY WITH AGENTS LIKE SAHA MIGHT BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR ALCOHOLISM. 2018 15 1800 33 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 6585 29 TRPV4-MEDIATED ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF SUBERANILOHYDROXAMIC ACID ON MECHANICAL PAIN. BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SUBERANILOHYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA) HAVE MAINLY BEEN OBSERVED IN THE CONTEXT OF TUMOR SUPPRESSION VIA EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, BUT OTHER POTENTIAL OUTCOMES FROM ITS USE HAVE ALSO BEEN PROPOSED IN DIFFERENT FIELDS SUCH AS PAIN MODULATION. HERE, WE TRIED TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER SAHA MODULATES SPECIFIC PAIN MODALITIES BY A NON-EPIGENETIC UNKNOWN MECHANISM. FROM 24 H COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA)-INFLAMED HIND PAWS OF MICE, MECHANICAL AND THERMAL INFLAMMATORY PAIN INDICES WERE COLLECTED WITH OR WITHOUT IMMEDIATE INTRAPLANTAR INJECTION OF SAHA. TO EXAMINE THE ACTION OF SAHA ON SENSORY RECEPTOR-SPECIFIC PAIN, TRANSIENT RECEPTOR POTENTIAL (TRP) ION CHANNEL-MEDIATED PAIN INDICES WERE COLLECTED IN THE SAME MANNER OF INTRAPLANTAR TREATMENT. ACTIVITIES OF PRIMARILY CULTURED SENSORY NEURONS AND HETEROLOGOUS CELLS TRANSFECTED WITH TRP CHANNELS WERE MONITORED TO DETERMINE THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM UNDERLYING THE PAIN-MODULATING EFFECT OF SAHA. AS A RESULT, IMMEDIATE AND LOCALIZED PRETREATMENT WITH SAHA, AVOIDING AN EPIGENETIC INTERVENTION, ACUTELY ATTENUATED MECHANICAL INFLAMMATORY PAIN AND RECEPTOR-SPECIFIC PAIN EVOKED BY INJECTION OF A TRP CHANNEL AGONIST IN ANIMAL MODELS. WE SHOW THAT A COMPONENT OF THE MECHANISMS INVOLVES TRPV4 INHIBITION BASED ON IN VITRO INTRACELLULAR CA(2+) IMAGING AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS WITH HETEROLOGOUS EXPRESSION SYSTEMS AND CULTURED SENSORY NEURONS. TAKEN TOGETHER, THE PRESENT STUDY PROVIDES EVIDENCE OF A NOVEL OFF-TARGET ACTION AND ITS MECHANISM OF SAHA IN ITS MODALITY-SPECIFIC ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE EFFECT AND SUGGESTS THE UTILITY OF THIS COMPOUND FOR PHARMACOLOGICAL MODULATION OF PAIN. 2019 17 4579 31 N(6)-METHYLADENOSINE METHYLASE METTL3 CONTRIBUTES TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN BY EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF MU OPIOID RECEPTOR. WE AIMED AT EXPLORING THE ROLE AND MECHANISM OF METTL3-MEDIATED M(6)A MODIFICATION IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN. MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO FOUR GROUPS: SHAM OPERATION GROUP (SHAM GROUP), CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY (CCI) OF THE SCIATIC NERVE MODEL GROUP (NPP GROUP), INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF VIRUS DOWN-REGULATED METTL3 + CCI MODEL GROUP (M3 + NPP GROUP) AND INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF NEGATIVE CONTROL VIRUS + CCI MODEL GROUP (SCR + NPP GROUP). THE M3 + NPP GROUP AND THE SCR + NPP GROUP WERE INTRATHECALLY INJECTED WITH VIRUS NINETEEN DAYS BEFORE OPERATION. THE PAW WITHDRAWAL MECHANICAL THRESHOLDS AND PAW WITHDRAWAL LATENCY WERE RESPECTIVELY RECORDED ONE DAY BEFORE OPERATION, THREE DAYS, FIVE DAYS AND SEVEN DAYS AFTER OPERATION. THE RATS WERE SACRIFICED ON THE SEVENTH DAY AFTER OPERATION, AND THEIR SPINAL CORD TISSUES WERE TAKEN. THE FROZEN SECTIONS OF RATS WERE PERFORMED TO OBSERVE THE EXPRESSION OF GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN OF THE VIRUS. THE METHYLATION LEVEL OF RNA, THE PROTEIN EXPRESSION OF M(6)A-RELATED ENZYME (METTL3) AND MU OPIOID RECEPTOR (MOR) IN SPINAL CORD TISSUES OF THE FOUR GROUPS WERE MEASURED. DOWNREGULATION OF METTL3 HAD NO EFFECT ON THE OVERALL METHYLATION LEVEL OF THE SPINAL CORD, BUT IT COULD REGULATE THE METHYLATION LEVEL OF THE OPRM1 GENE RNA ENCODING MOR, PARTIALLY RESTORE THE EXPRESSION OF MOR, AND RELIEVE PAIN IN RATS. IN THE PROCESS OF NPP, METTL3 MAY INHIBIT THE EXPRESSION OF MOR BY REGULATING THE METHYLATION LEVEL OF OPRM1 GENE RNA ENCODING MOR, AND ULTIMATELY PROMOTE THE OCCURRENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF NPP. 2023 18 3196 29 HDAC INHIBITORS RESTORE C-FIBRE SENSITIVITY IN EXPERIMENTAL NEUROPATHIC PAIN MODEL. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: HYPOESTHESIA IS A CLINICAL FEATURE OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. THE FEATURE IS PARTLY EXPLAINED BY THE EVIDENCE OF EPIGENETIC REPRESSION OF NAV 1.8 SODIUM CHANNEL IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG). EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: WE INVESTIGATED THE POSSIBILITY OF TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA), VALPROIC ACID (VPA) AND SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA) TO REVERSE THE UNIQUE C-FIBRE SENSITIVITY OBSERVED FOLLOWING PARTIAL LIGATION OF SCIATIC NERVE IN MICE. KEY RESULTS: NERVE INJURY-INDUCED DOWN-REGULATION OF DRG NAV 1.8 SODIUM CHANNEL AND C-FIBRE-RELATED HYPOESTHESIA WERE REVERSED BY TSA, VPA AND SAHA TREATMENTS, WHICH INHIBIT HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC), AND INCREASE HISTONE ACETYLATION AT THE REGULATORY SEQUENCE OF NAV 1.8. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE STUDIES PROVIDE THE EVIDENCE THAT HYPOESTHESIA AND UNDERLYING DOWN-REGULATION OF NAV 1.8, NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS OBSERVED IN NERVE INJURY-INDUCED NEUROPATHIC PAIN MODELS ARE REGULATED BY AN EPIGENETIC CHROMATIN REMODELLING THROUGH HDAC-RELATED MACHINERIES. 2013 19 2407 40 EPIGENETIC RESTORATION OF VOLTAGE-GATED POTASSIUM CHANNEL KV1.2 ALLEVIATES NERVE INJURY-INDUCED NEUROPATHIC PAIN. VOLTAGE-GATED POTASSIUM CHANNELS (KV) ARE IMPORTANT REGULATORS OF NEURONAL EXCITABILITY FOR ITS ROLE OF REGULATING RESTING MEMBRANE POTENTIAL AND REPOLARIZATION. RECENT STUDIES SHOW THAT KV CHANNELS PARTICIPATE IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN, BUT THE DETAILED UNDERLYING MECHANISMS ARE FAR FROM BEING CLEAR. IN THIS STUDY, WE USED SIRNA, MIR-137 AGOMIR, AND ANTAGOMIR TO REGULATE THE EXPRESSION OF KV1.2 IN SPINAL CORD AND DORSAL ROOT GANGLIA (DRG) OF NAIVE AND CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY (CCI) RATS. KV CURRENTS AND NEURON EXCITABILITY IN DRG NEURONS WERE EXAMINED BY PATCH-CLAMP WHOLE-CELL RECORDING TO VERIFY THE CHANGE IN KV1.2 FUNCTION. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT KV1.2 WAS DOWN-REGULATED IN DRG AND SPINAL DORSAL HORN (SDH) BY CCI. KNOCKDOWN OF KV1.2 BY INTRATHECALLY INJECTING KCNA2 SIRNA INDUCED SIGNIFICANT MECHANICAL AND THERMAL HYPERSENSITIVITY IN NAIVE RATS. CONCOMITANT WITH THE DOWN-REGULATION OF KV1.2 WAS AN INCREASE IN THE EXPRESSION OF THE MIR-137. THE TARGETING AND REGULATING OF MIR-137 ON KCNA2 WAS VERIFIED BY DUAL-LUCIFERASE REPORTER SYSTEM AND INTRATHECAL INJECTING MIR-137 AGOMIR. FURTHERMORE, RESCUING THE EXPRESSION OF KV1.2 IN CCI RATS, ACHIEVED THROUGH INHIBITING MIR-137, RESTORED THE ABNORMAL KV CURRENTS AND EXCITABILITY IN DRG NEURONS, AND ALLEVIATED MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA AND THERMAL HYPERALGESIA. THESE RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE MIR-137-MEDIATED KV1.2 IMPAIRMENT IS A CRUCIAL ETIOPATHOGENESIS FOR THE NERVE INJURY-INDUCED NEUROPATHIC PAIN AND CAN BE A NOVEL POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN MANAGEMENT. 2021 20 6039 46 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