Abstract
Background Both experimental and clinical studies have shown that electroacupuncture (EA) administration ameliorates chronic inflammatory pain (CIP). However, the multifaceted mechanism underlying the effects of EA on CIP is poorly understood. In this study, the mRNA transcriptome was used to study various therapeutic targets of EA. Methods Using RNA-sequencing, protein-coding mRNA expression profiles of the L4-L5 dorsal root ganglion (DRG) were examined in the control (CN), complete Freund's adjuvant- (CFA-) induced CIP, and EA-treated CIP groups. A series of bioinformatics analyses was performed; “EA-reversed upregulated genes with CIP” (up-DEGs) and “EA-reversed downregulated genes with CIP” (down-DEGs) were identified. Thereafter, based on up-DEGs and down-DEGs, biological functions and signaling pathways were enriched using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses. Results In total, 189 DEGs were identified, including 134 up- and 55 down-DEGs, which were enriched in arachidonic acid metabolism (rno00590), glutamatergic synapse (rno04724), serotonergic synapse (rno04726), FoxO signaling pathway (rno04068), insulin signaling pathway (rno04910), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (rno05014), cholinergic synapse (rno04725), ECM-receptor interaction (rno04512), and choline metabolism in cancer (rno05231). Conclusion We identified a few GOs, pathways, and genes that could play key roles in the amelioration of CIP by EA. Hence, this study may provide a theoretical basis for CIP amelioration by EA.
Highlights
Chronic inflammatory pain (CIP) is a type of refractory disease and occurs after peripheral nerve injury and tissue inflammation
Animals were randomly divided into 5 groups (n 6): (1) control group (N), (2) complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) group (M), (3) CFA + 100 Hz EA group (100 Hz), (4) CFA + 120 Hz EA group (120 Hz), and (5) CFA + 2/120 Hz EA group (2/120 Hz). e control group received a subcutaneous injection of 0.1 ml saline; the CFA group received a subcutaneous injection of 0.1 ml CFA and were immobilized; all three EA groups received a subcutaneous injection of 0.1 ml CFA, and were immobilized with EA treatment
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis revealed that the levels of IL-1β in the plantar tissue were significantly higher in the complete Freund’s adjuvant- (CFA-)treated rats compared with the control group 24 h after injection (p < 0.01) (Figure 1). e levels of IL-1β in the plantar tissue of the EA rats were decreased in the EA groups compared with those in the chronic inflammatory pain (CIP) group; there was no significant difference (p > 0.05)
Summary
Chronic inflammatory pain (CIP) is a type of refractory disease and occurs after peripheral nerve injury and tissue inflammation. Previous studies have shown that treatment with dilated 100 Hz and 2 Hz alternating frequency (2/100 Hz) EA at ST36 [8] can reduce the noxious response to complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) stimulation, which is related to the peripheral endogenous opioid system and ERK1/2 and TRPV1 pathways [9,10,11]. Both experimental and clinical studies have shown that electroacupuncture (EA) administration ameliorates chronic inflammatory pain (CIP), the multifaceted mechanism of EA for CIP is poorly understood. This study may provide a theoretical basis for CIP amelioration by EA
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