LncRNA XR_351665 Contributes to Chronic Pain-Induced Depression by Upregulating DNMT1 via Sponging miR-152-3p

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Chronic pain is frequently comorbid with depression. However, the mechanisms underlying chronic pain-induced depression remain unclear. Here, we found that DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) was upregulated in the central amygdala (CeA) of spared nerve injury (SNI)-induced chronic pain-depression rats, and knockdown of DNMT1 could improve the depression-like behaviors in SNI rats. Additionally, a panel of differentially expressed lncRNAs, including 38 upregulated and 12 downregulated lncRNAs, were identified by microarray analysis. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that the upregulated lncRNA XR_351665 was the upstream molecule to regulate DNMT1 expression. The knockdown of XR_351665 significantly alleviated the depression-like behaviors in SNI rats, whereas overexpression of XR_351665 induced the depression-like behaviors in naïve rats. Further mechanism-related researches uncovered that XR_351665 functioned as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to upregulate DNMT1 by competitively sponging miR-152-3p, and subsequently promoted the development of chronic pain-induced depression. Our findings suggest that lncRNA XR_351665 is involved in the development of chronic pain-induced depression by upregulating DNMT1 via sponging miR-152-3p. These data provide novel insight into understanding the pathogenesis of chronic pain-induced depression and identify a potential therapeutic target. PerspectiveLncRNA XR_351665 in CeA functions as a ceRNA to block the inhibitory effect of miR-152-3p on DNMT1 and contributes to the development of chronic pain-induced depression. These data suggest that manipulation of XR_351665/miR-152-3p/DNMT1 axis may be a potential method to attenuate chronic pain-induced depression.