title: Treatment with analgesics after mouse sciatic nerve injury does not alter expression of wound healing-associated genes.
abstract: Animal models of sciatic nerve injury are commonly used to study neuropathic pain as well as axon regeneration. Administration of post-surgical analgesics is an important consideration for animal welfare, but the actions of the analgesic must not interfere with the scientific goals of the experiment. In this study, we show that treatment with either buprenorphine or acetaminophen following a bilateral sciatic nerve crush surgery does not alter the expression in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons of a panel of genes associated with wound healing. These findings indicate that the post-operative use of buprenorphine or acetaminophen at doses commonly suggested by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees does not change the intrinsic gene expression response of DRG neurons to a sciatic nerve crush injury, for many wound healing-associated genes. Therefore, administration of post-operative analgesics may not confound the results of transcriptomic studies employing this injury model.
authors.affiliation: The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami, Lois Pope LIFE Center, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Matt C
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1568-5965
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Danzi
authors.affiliation: The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami, Lois Pope LIFE Center, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Motti
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Donna L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Avison
authors.affiliation: The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami, Lois Pope LIFE Center, Miami, FL, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bixby
authors.affiliation: The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami, Lois Pope LIFE Center, Miami, FL, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Vance P
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3550-7576
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Lemmon
keywords: acetaminophen; analgesics; axon; buprenorphine; dorsal root ganglia; gene expression; peripheral nerve injuries; regeneration; sciatic nerve; wound healing