Premium
Silencing of lncRNA Gm14461 alleviates pain in trigeminal neuralgia through inhibiting astrocyte activation
Author(s) -
Cai Jun,
Yan Yi,
Zhang Daying,
Zhu Mengye,
Wang Zhijian,
Zhang Xuexue,
Xu Mu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iubmb life
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.132
H-Index - 113
eISSN - 1521-6551
pISSN - 1521-6543
DOI - 10.1002/iub.2395
Subject(s) - astrocyte , autophagy , gene silencing , glial fibrillary acidic protein , western blot , chemistry , pi3k/akt/mtor pathway , microbiology and biotechnology , signal transduction , biology , neuroscience , immunology , apoptosis , biochemistry , central nervous system , immunohistochemistry , gene
Our previous study showed that silencing of lncRNA Gm14461 alleviated pain in a murine model of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), but the molecular mechanism remains not fully understood. Evidence indicates that astrocyte activation and autophagy are involved in the development of TN. Herein, this study aimed to elucidate whether the pain‐relief effect of Gm14461 silencing in TN involved regulation of astrocyte activation and autophagy. A murine model of TN was induced by chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve surgery. The mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) was measured to assess the analgesic effect of Gm14461 silencing. Mouse astrocytes were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a cell model. Astrocyte activation was evaluated by glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunofluorescence and western blot analysis of GFAP. Autophagy was evaluated by LC3 immunofluorescence and western blot analysis of autophagy‐related proteins. The results showed that Gm14461 silencing increased MWT value in TN model mice. Meanwhile, Gm14461 silencing inhibited astrocyte activation and enhanced autophagy in both TN mice and LPS‐treated astrocytes. The enhancement of autophagy by Gm14461 silencing involved the activation of the AMPK signaling and the suppression of the Akt/mTOR signaling. Collectively, the analgesic effect of Gm14461 silencing in TN was related to attenuation of astrocyte activation via enhancement of autophagy.