DNA methylation reprogramming after spinal nerve injury

Purpose: Nerve injury-induced hyperactivity of primary sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) contributes critically to chronic pain development, but its underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Chronic neuropathic pain has a clear epigenetic component, however, most studies so far have focused on histone modifications. We determined changes of DNA methylation in the rat DRG, spinal cord, and prefrontal cortex after spinal nerve ligation (SNL). We used a rat model of neuropathic pain induced by spinal nerve ligation (SNL). We analyzed DNA methylation in neural tissues at tens of thousands of CCCGGG target sites by the DREAM method (digital restriction enzyme analysis of methylation) based on sequential SmaI and XmaI digests and resolution of methylation signatures by high througput Illumina sequencing.