Epigenetic Mechanisms of Chronic Pain

Overview

Journal Trends Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2015 Mar 14

PMID 25765319

Citations 151

Authors

Giannina Descalzi

Daigo Ikegami

Toshikazu Ushijima

Eric J Nestler

Venetia Zachariou

Minoru Narita

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Neuropathic and inflammatory pain promote a large number of persisting adaptations at the cellular and molecular level, allowing even transient tissue or nerve damage to elicit changes in cells that contribute to the development of chronic pain and associated symptoms. There is evidence that injury-induced changes in chromatin structure drive stable changes in gene expression and neural function, which may cause several symptoms, including allodynia, hyperalgesia, anxiety, and depression. Recent findings on epigenetic changes in the spinal cord and brain during chronic pain may guide fundamental advances in new treatments. Here, we provide a brief overview of epigenetic regulation in the nervous system and then discuss the still-limited literature that directly implicates epigenetic modifications in chronic pain syndromes.

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