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Microglia in the spinal cord and neuropathic pain.

ABSTRACT: In contrast to physiological pain, pathological pain is not dependent on the presence of tissue-damaging stimuli. One type of pathological pain - neuropathic pain - is often a consequence of nerve injury or of diseases such as diabetes. Neuropathic pain can be agonizing, can persist over long periods and is often resistant to known painkillers. A growing body of evidence shows that many pathological processes within the central nervous system are mediated by complex interactions between neurons and glial cells. In the case of painful peripheral neuropathy, spinal microglia react and undergo a series of changes that directly influence the establishment of neuropathic pain states. After nerve damage, purinergic P2X4 receptors (non-selective cation channels activated by extracellular adenosine triphosphate) are upregulated in spinal microglia in a manner that depends on the transcription factors interferon regulatory factor 8 and 5, both of which are expressed in microglia after peripheral nerve injury. P2X4 receptor expression on the cell surface of microglia is also regulated at the post-translational level by signaling from CC chemokine receptor chemotactic cytokine receptor 2. Furthermore, spinal microglia in response to extracellular stimuli results in signal transduction through intracellular signaling cascades, such as mitogen-activated protein kinases, p38 and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase. Importantly, inhibiting the function or expression of these microglial molecules suppresses the aberrant excitability of dorsal horn neurons and neuropathic pain. These findings show that spinal microglia are a central player in mechanisms for neuropathic pain, and might be a potential target for treating the chronic pain state.

SUBMITTER: Tsuda M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4718109 | biostudies-other | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:BackgroundNeuropathic pain is caused by sensory nerve injury, but effective treatments are currently lacking. Microglia are activated in the spinal dorsal horn after sensory nerve injury and contribute to neuropathic pain. Accordingly, molecules expressed by these cells are considered potential targets for therapeutic strategies. Our previous gene screening study using a mouse model of motor nerve injury showed that the G-protein-coupled receptor 34 gene (GPR34) is induced by nerve injury. Because GPR34 is now considered a microglia-enriched gene, we explored the possibility that it might be involved in microglial activation in the dorsal horn in a mouse model of neuropathic pain.MethodsmRNA expression of GPR34 and pro-inflammatory molecules was determined by quantitative real-time PCR in wild-type and GPR34-deficient mice with L4 spinal nerve injury. In situ hybridization was used to identify GPR34 expression in microglia, and immunohistochemistry with the microglial marker Iba1 was performed to examine microglial numbers and morphology. Mechanical sensitivity was evaluated by the von Frey hair test. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry quantified expression of the ligand for GPR34, lysophosphatidylserine (LysoPS), in the dorsal horn, and a GPR34 antagonist was intrathecally administrated to examine the effect of inhibiting LysoPS-GPR34 signaling on mechanical sensitivity.ResultsGPR34 was predominantly expressed by microglia in the dorsal horn after L4 nerve injury. There were no histological differences in microglial numbers or morphology between WT and GPR34-deficient mice. However, nerve injury-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine expression levels in microglia and pain behaviors were significantly attenuated in GPR34-deficient mice. Furthermore, the intrathecal administration of the GPR34 antagonist reduced neuropathic pain.ConclusionsInhibition of GPR34-mediated signal by GPR34 gene deletion reduced nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain by suppressing pro-inflammatory responses of microglia without affecting their morphology. Therefore, the suppression of GPR34 activity may have therapeutic potential for alleviating neuropathic pain.

Project description:Objective: Chronic pain is a major problem in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). According to different studies, approximately 70% of patients with SCI experience persistent pain. Although previous gene expression profiling studies have been conducted in animal models, gene expression profiling study in human whole blood has not been reported yet. The objective of this study was to define the gene expression profile of neuropathic pain in spinal cord injured patients. Materials and Methods: We performed gene expression analysis including 20.000 genes using Affymetrix GeneChip® Primeview™ Human Gene Expression Arrays. For confirmation of expression levels of selected genes, we performed real time polymerase chain reaction. We gathered samples from periferic blood mononuclear cells. Data of twelve patients with intractable neuropathic pain was compared with thirteen patients who don’t have pain. All patients have complete injuries with a level of injury above T5. Results: A total of 16 differentially expressed genes including 9 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated were obtained with a cut-off degree at 4 fold change. EIF1AY, RPS4Y1, DDX3Y, RPL31, ETS1, KLF3, JUN, CYorf15B, and ERAP2 were in up-regulated and HLA-C, XIST, C4BPA, FAM118A, ZNF506, OVOS2, and C1D were in down-regulated group. KEGG pathway database showed that 14.6% of genes were enriched in the nodes of immune system. Real time polymerase chain reaction analyses did not increase to statistically significant levels for confirmation of gene expression analyze results. Conclusions: Considering these data, findings of this first gene expression study in humans with SCI might provide valuable information for future targets for understanding neuropathic pain pathogenesis. The results of gene expression analyses were not confirmed by real time polymerase chain reaction. Studies with larger sample size are needed for confirmation. This is a cross-sectional study with a control group. Patients were divided into two groups according to intractable neuropathic pain existence.There were 12 patients in group A (Patients with pain) and 13 patients in control group.

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Microglia in the spinal cord and neuropathic pain.

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