Transcriptional Changes in Dorsal Spinal Cord Persist after Surgical Incision Despite Preemptive Analgesia with Peripheral Resiniferatoxin.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral nociceptors expressing the ion channel transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 1, play an important role in mediating postoperative pain. Signaling from these nociceptors in the peri- and postoperative period can lead to plastic changes in the spinal cord and, when controlled, can yield analgesia. The transcriptomic changes in the dorsal spinal cord after surgery, and potential coupling to transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 1-positive nociceptor signaling, remain poorly studied. METHODS: Resiniferatoxin was injected subcutaneously into rat hind paw several minutes before surgical incision to inactivate transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 1-positive nerve terminals. The effects of resiniferatoxin on postincisional measures of pain were assessed through postoperative day 10 (n = 51). Transcriptomic changes in the dorsal spinal cord, with and without peripheral transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 1-positive nerve terminal inactivation, were assessed by RNA sequencing (n = 22). RESULTS: Peripherally administered resiniferatoxin increased thermal withdrawal latency by at least twofold through postoperative day 4, increased mechanical withdrawal threshold by at least sevenfold through postoperative day 2, and decreased guarding score by 90% relative to vehicle control (P < 0.05). Surgical incision induced 70 genes in the dorsal horn, and these changes were specific to the ipsilateral dorsal horn. Gene induction with surgical incision persisted despite robust analgesia from resiniferatoxin pretreatment. Many of the genes induced were related to microglial activation, such as Cd11b and Iba1. CONCLUSIONS: A single subcutaneous injection of resiniferatoxin before incision attenuated both evoked and nonevoked measures of postoperative pain. Surgical incision induced transcriptomic changes in the dorsal horn that persisted despite analgesia with resiniferatoxin, suggesting that postsurgical pain signals can be blocked without preventing transcription changes in the dorsal horn.

RNA-Seq investigations of human post-mortem trigeminal ganglia.

Background The trigeminal ganglion contains neurons that relay sensations of pain, touch, pressure, and many other somatosensory modalities to the central nervous system. The ganglion is also a reservoir for latent herpes virus 1 infection. To gain a better understanding of molecular factors contributing to migraine and headache, transcriptome analyses were performed on postmortem human trigeminal ganglia. Methods RNA-Seq measurements of gene expression were conducted on small sub-regions of 16 human trigeminal ganglia. The samples were also characterized for transcripts derived from viral and microbial genomes. Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) antibodies in blood were measured using the luciferase immunoprecipitation assay. Results Observed molecular heterogeneity could be explained by sampling of anatomically distinct sub-regions of the excised ganglia consistent with neurally-enriched and non-neural, i.e. Schwann cell, enriched subregions. The levels of HSV-1 transcripts detected in trigeminal ganglia correlated with blood levels of HSV-1 antibodies. Multiple migraine susceptibility genes were strongly expressed in neurally-enriched trigeminal samples, while others were expressed in blood vessels. Conclusions These data provide a comprehensive human trigeminal transcriptome and a framework for evaluation of inhomogeneous post-mortem tissues through extensive quality control and refined downstream analyses for RNA-Seq methodologies. Expression profiling of migraine susceptibility genes identified by genetic association appears to emphasize the blood vessel component of the trigeminovascular system. Other genes displayed enriched expression in the trigeminal compared to dorsal root ganglion, and in-depth transcriptomic analysis of the KCNK18 gene underlying familial migraine shows selective neural expression within two specific populations of ganglionic neurons. These data suggest that expression profiling of migraine-associated genes can extend and amplify the underlying neurobiological insights obtained from genetic association studies.

Thermal A-δ Nociceptors, Identified by Transcriptomics, Express Higher Levels of Anesthesia-Sensitive Receptors Than Thermal C-Fibers and Are More Suppressible by Low-Dose Isoflurane.

We investigated the effect of isoflurane on 2 main types of thermal nociceptors: A-δ and C-fibers. Surprisingly, 1% inhaled isoflurane led to a hyperalgesic response to C-fiber thermal stimulation, whereas responses to A-δ thermal stimulation were blunted. We explored the hypothesis that differences in withdrawal behavior are mediated by differential expression of isoflurane-sensitive proteins between these types of thermal nociceptors. Multiple transcriptomic databases of peripheral neurons were integrated to reveal that isoflurane-susceptible proteins Htr3a, Kcna2, and Scn8a were enriched in thermosensitive A-δ neurons. This exploratory analysis highlights the differing role that volatile anesthetics might have on nociceptors in the peripheral nervous system.

Long-term pain relief in canine osteoarthritis by a single intra-articular injection of resiniferatoxin, a potent TRPV1 agonist.

The translational potential of analgesic approaches emerging from basic research can be augmented by client-owned dog trials. We report on a peripheral interventional approach that uses intra-articular injection of the ultrapotent TRPV1 agonist resiniferatoxin (RTX) to produce a selective long-term chemoinactivation of nociceptive primary afferent nerve endings for pain control in naturally occurring canine osteoarthritis. A single injection of 10 µg of RTX, produced suppression of pain, improvement in gait, weight bearing, and improvement in the dog's activities of daily living lasting 4 months or longer. Two to 3 years after the injection, there are no alterations to suggest that removal of inflammatory pain caused accelerated joint degeneration (Charcot joint) in any of the dogs. To amplify the effective use of canine subjects in translational analgesia research, we report a high-quality canine dorsal root ganglion transcriptome. Some targets for analgesia are highly conserved both in protein sequence and level of expression within a target tissue while others diverge substantially from the human. This knowledge is especially important for development of analgesics aimed at peripheral molecular targets and provides a template for informed translational research. The peripheral site of action, long duration of analgesia, apparent safety, and retention of coordination, all resulting from a single dose suggest that intra-articular RTX may be an effective intervention for osteoarthritis pain with few or no side effects and lead to an improved quality of life.

Pain control through selective chemo-axotomy of centrally projecting TRPV1+ sensory neurons.

Agonists of the vanilloid receptor transient vanilloid potential 1 (TRPV1) are emerging as highly efficacious nonopioid analgesics in preclinical studies. These drugs selectively lesion TRPV1+ primary sensory afferents, which are responsible for the transmission of many noxious stimulus modalities. Resiniferatoxin (RTX) is a very potent and selective TRPV1 agonist and is a promising candidate for treating many types of pain. Recent work establishing intrathecal application of RTX for the treatment of pain resulting from advanced cancer has demonstrated profound analgesia in client-owned dogs with osteosarcoma. The present study uses transcriptomics and histochemistry to examine the molecular mechanism of RTX action in rats, in clinical canine subjects, and in 1 human subject with advanced cancer treated for pain using intrathecal RTX. In all 3 species, we observe a strong analgesic action, yet this was accompanied by limited transcriptional alterations at the level of the dorsal root ganglion. Functional and neuroanatomical studies demonstrated that intrathecal RTX largely spares susceptible neuronal perikarya, which remain active peripherally but unable to transmit signals to the spinal cord. The results demonstrate that central chemo-axotomy of the TRPV1+ afferents underlies RTX analgesia and refine the neurobiology underlying effective clinical use of TRPV1 agonists for pain control.

Phosphorylation of the Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1 by Cyclin-dependent Kinase 5 affects Chemo-nociception.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a key neuronal kinase that is upregulated during inflammation, and can subsequently modulate sensitivity to nociceptive stimuli. We conducted an in silico screen for Cdk5 phosphorylation sites within proteins whose expression was enriched in nociceptors and identified the chemo-responsive ion channel Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) as a possible Cdk5 substrate. Immunoprecipitated full length TRPA1 was shown to be phosphorylated by Cdk5 and this interaction was blocked by TFP5, an inhibitor that prevents activation of Cdk5. In vitro peptide-based kinase assay revealed that four of six TRPA1 Cdk5 consensus sites acted as substrates for Cdk5, and modeling of the ankyrin repeats disclosed that phosphorylation would occur at characteristic pockets within the (T/S)PLH motifs. Calcium imaging of trigeminal ganglion neurons from genetically engineered mice overexpressing or lacking the Cdk5 activator p35 displayed increased or decreased responsiveness, respectively, to stimulation with the TRPA1 agonist allylisothiocyanate (AITC). AITC-induced chemo-nociceptive behavior was also heightened in vivo in mice overexpressing p35 while being reduced in p35 knockout mice. Our findings demonstrate that TRPA1 is a substrate of Cdk5 and that Cdk5 activity is also able to modulate TRPA1 agonist-induced calcium influx and chemo-nociceptive behavioral responses.