title: High-resolution transcriptome analysis reveals neuropathic pain gene-expression signatures in spinal microglia after nerve injury.
abstract: Microglial cells, the resident immune cells of the spinal cord, become activated in response to peripheral nerve injury. Microglia activation contributes to the development of neuropathic pain. Here we employed microarray analysis of individually collected pools of 10 spinal microglia cells to identify changes of levels and cell-to-cell expression variance of microglial genes during their activation after peripheral nerve injury. The analysis of microglia on postoperative day 1 (POD1) identified miR-29c as a critical factor for microglial activation and the development of neuropathic pain. Early POD1 microglia exhibited a very distinct expression profile compared to late POD7 microglia, possibly leading to the transition from initiation to maintenance of neuropathic pain. We found sample variance patterns that were consistent with the hypothesis that microglia were highly heterogeneous at the level of individual cells, and variation analysis identified 56 microglial genes potentially linked to the maintenance of neuropathic pain which included Gria1. This study provides insights into spinal microglial biology and reveals novel microglial targets for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
authors.affiliation: Pain Cognitive Function Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea Dental Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA Medical Genomics Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Daejeon, Korea Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA Pain Research Laboratory, Institute of Nautical Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Heejin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Young-Ji
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Na
authors.forename: Kihwan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yong Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yunsin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Minho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Bao-Chun
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Young Il
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Yeom
authors.forename: Long-Jun
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yong-Jing
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Junhyong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seog Bae
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Oh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D017628:Microglia / Q000378:metabolism*; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013127:Spinal Nerves / Q000293:injuries*