Persistent Alterations in Microglial Enhancers in a Model of Chronic Pain

Denk, Franziska, Crow, Megan, Didangelos, Athanasios, Lopes, Douglas M, McMahon, Stephen B (May 2016) Persistent Alterations in Microglial Enhancers in a Model of Chronic Pain. Cell Reports, 15 (8). pp. 1771-81. ISSN 2211-1247

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27184839
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.04.063

Abstract

Summary Chronic pain is a common and devastating condition that induces well-characterized changes in neurons and microglia. One major unanswered question is why these changes should persist long after the precipitating injury has healed. Here, we suggest that some of the longer-lasting consequences of nerve injury may be hidden in the epigenome. Cell sorting and sequencing techniques were used to characterize the spinal cord immune response in a mouse model of chronic neuropathic pain. Infiltration of peripheral myeloid cells was found to be absent, and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of central microglia revealed transient gene expression changes in response to nerve ligation. Conversely, examination of microglial enhancers revealed persistent, post-injury alterations in close proximity to transcriptionally regulated genes. Enhancers are regions of open chromatin that define a cell’s transcription factor binding profile. We hypothesize that changes at enhancers may constitute a mechanism by which painful experiences are recorded at a molecular level.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions > cell types > microglia
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions > cell types > microglia
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions > cell types > microglia
Investigative techniques and equipment > assays > RNA-seq
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > protein structure, function, modification > protein types > transcription factor
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Gillis Lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 12 May 2016
Date Deposited: 24 May 2016 21:19
Last Modified: 23 Jun 2016 20:16
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/32803

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