Activation of transcription factor c-jun in dorsal root ganglia induces VIP and NPY upregulation and contributes to the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain

Sun Joo Son, Kyung Min Lee, Sang Min Jeon, Eun Sung Park, Kwon Moo Park, Hee Jung Cho

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) are known to be upregulated and to contribute to the mechanisms of neuropathic pain following peripheral nerve injury. Moreover, transcription factor c-Jun regulates the expressions of both VIP and NPY in cultured DRG neurons. To elucidate the role of c-Jun in the induction of neuropathic pain hypersensitivity, we examined whether activated c-Jun affects pain behavior and the expressions of VIP and NPY following chronic constriction injury (CCI) of rat sciatic nerve. Intrathecal treatment with c-jun antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (AS-ODN) significantly reduced mechanical allodynia, but not thermal hyperalgesia following CCI. In addition, c-jun AS-ODN also suppressed the remarkable elevations of VIP and NPY mRNAs and the percentages of phosphorylated c-Jun-, VIP-, and NPY-immunoreactive neurons observed in DRGs following CCI. These results show that the activation of c-Jun in DRGs induces VIP and NPY upregulation and contributes to the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain following CCI.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)467-472
Number of pages6
JournalExperimental Neurology
Volume204
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2007
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Developmental Neuroscience

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