RNA Sequencing Reveals Sex Differences in Transcriptional Changes in Muscle Tissue in Response to Muscle Pain in Sedentary and Physically Active Mice

The goal of this study was to use RNA sequencing to identify sex specific transcriptional changes in the development of muscle pain and uncover novel mechanisms through which physical activity prevents the onset of muscle pain. We performed bulk RNA sequencing of the gastrocnemius muscle which is where we induce muscle pain. We found distinct sex differences in the transcriptional alterations in the muscle following induction of muscle pain. We also identified several pathways in which exercise was able to prevent against the development of muscle pain. Overall design: Comparative gene expression analysis of RNA-seq data for gastrocnemius muscle tissue of C57/BL6 mice. Animals were grouped as pain free, sedentary with muscle pain, or physically active with muscle pain. Pain free animals served as control for both the sedentary and physically active mice. Male and female data sets were analyzed seperately and then differentially expressed genes were compared between the sexes.