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).研究目的：神经损伤诱导的背根神经节（dorsal root ganglion, DRG）初级感觉神经元过度激活，对慢性疼痛的发生发展至关重要，但其潜在机制尚未完全阐明。慢性神经性疼痛具有明确的表观遗传调控特征，但迄今为止多数相关研究仅聚焦于组蛋白修饰。本研究检测了脊神经结扎（spinal nerve ligation, SNL）模型大鼠的背根神经节、脊髓及前额叶皮层的DNA甲基化水平变化。