Integrated analysis of Transcriptomic Data Reveal AP-1 as a Potential Regulation Hub in Inflammation Induced Hyperalgesia Rat

BackgroundInflammation associated chronic pain is a global clinical problem, affecting millions of people worldwide. However, the underlying mechanism of inflammation associated chronic pain remains unclear. Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) induced cutaneous inflammation rat has been widely used as an inflammation-induced pain hypersensitivity model.MethodsHerein, we presented a transcriptomic profile of CFA-induced rat dorsal root ganglion via an approach targeting gene expression, DNA methylation and post-transcriptional regulation.ResultsWe identified 418 differentially expressed mRNAs, 120 differentially expressed microRNAs and 2670 differentially methylated regions, which are all highly associated with multiple inflammation related pathways, including NF-κB signaling pathways and IFN signaling pathways. Integrated analysis further demonstrated that AP-1 network, which may work as a regulator of inflammation response, is sophisticatedly regulated at both transcriptomic and epigenetic level.ConclusionsWe believe our data will not only provide drug screening targets for treating chronic pain and inflammation, but also shed a light on the molecular network inflammation induced hyperalgesia.