Effects of long non-coding RNA uc.48+on pain transmission in trigeminal neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is the most common neuropathic pain in the facial area, for which the effective therapy is unavailable. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) such as lncRNA uc.48 + is involved in diabetic neuropathic pain and may affect purinergic signaling in ganglia of diabetic rats. In this research, chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve (CCI-ION) was applied to establish a rat model of TN. Five days after local injection of siRNA targeting the lncRNA uc.48+ in trigeminal ganglia (TGs), the upregulated uc.48 + expression and the reduced mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) in the TN rats were significantly reversed. The expression of P2X(7) receptor in TGs was increased in the TN group compared with the sham group, but uc.48 + siRNA treatment mitigated this effect. The phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in TGs of TN rats was significantly enhanced compared with the sham group, while uc.48 + siRNA treatment reversed this change. In addition, injection of the lncRNA uc.48 + overexpression plasmid in TGs of control rats significantly reduced the MWT but elevated the expression of P2X(7) in TGs; the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in TGs in these uc.48 +-overexpressed rats was significantly higher, similar to the observations in rats of TN model. The interaction between uc.48 + and the P2X(7) receptor was detected by RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP), indicating that P2X(7) receptor could specifically bind to uc.48 +. In summary, knockdown of lncRNA uc.48 + by siRNA could inhibit transduction of TN signals, whereas uc.48 + overexpression promoted TN signal transduction. LncRNA uc.48 + may interact with P2X(7) receptor to upregulate expression of P2X7 receptor and furthermore enhance the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in TGs, thereby participating in pain transmission in TN.