SNAP25/syntaxin4/VAMP2/Munc18-1 Complexes in Spinal Dorsal Horn Contributed to Inflammatory Pain.

Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) have been implicated in the trafficking of postsynaptic glutamate receptors, including N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-subtype glutamate receptors (NMDARs) that are critical for nociceptive plasticity and behavioral sensitization. However, the components of SNAREs complex involved in spinal nociceptive processing remain largely unknown. Here we found that SNAP25, syntaxin4, VAMP2 and Munc18-1 were localized at postsynaptic sites and formed the complex in the superficial lamina of spinal cord dorsal horn of rats. The complex formation between these SNAREs components were accelerated after intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), pharmacological removal of GABAergic inhibition or activation of NMDAR in intact rats. The increased SNAP25/syntaxin4/VAMP2/Munc18-1 interaction facilitated the surface delivery and synaptic accumulation of NMDAR during inflammatory pain. Disruption of the molecular interaction between SNAP25 with its SNARE partners by using a blocking peptide derived from the C-terminus of SNAP25 effectively repressed the surface and synaptic accumulation of GluN2B-containing NMDARs in CFA-injected rats. This peptide also alleviated inflammatory mechanical allodynia and thermal hypersensitivity. These data suggested that SNAREs complex assembly in spinal cord dorsal horn was involved in the inflammatory pain hypersensitivity through promoting NMDAR synaptic trafficking.

mGluR5/ERK signaling regulated the phosphorylation and function of glycine receptor α1ins subunit in spinal dorsal horn of mice.

Inhibitory glycinergic transmission in adult spinal cord is primarily mediated by glycine receptors (GlyRs) containing the α1 subunit. Here, we found that α1ins, a longer α1 variant with 8 amino acids inserted into the intracellular large loop (IL) between transmembrane (TM)3 and TM4 domains, was expressed in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, distributed at inhibitory synapses, and engaged in negative control over nociceptive signal transduction. Activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) specifically suppressed α1ins-mediated glycinergic transmission and evoked pain sensitization. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) was critical for mGluR5 to inhibit α1ins. By binding to a D-docking site created by the 8-amino-acid insert within the TM3-TM4 loop of α1ins, the active ERK catalyzed α1ins phosphorylation at Ser380, which favored α1ins ubiquitination at Lys379 and led to α1ins endocytosis. Disruption of ERK interaction with α1ins blocked Ser380 phosphorylation, potentiated glycinergic synaptic currents, and alleviated inflammatory and neuropathic pain. These data thus unraveled a novel, to our knowledge, mechanism for the activity-dependent regulation of glycinergic neurotransmission.

A synthetic peptide disturbing GluN2A/SHP1 interaction in dorsal root ganglion attenuated pathological pain.

Src Homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 1 (SHP1) interacts specifically with GluN2A subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptors in spinal cord dorsal horn. This molecular interaction is involved in the development of GluN2A-dependent spinal sensitization of nociceptive behaviors. Intrathecal application of a GluN2A-derived polypeptide (short for pep-GluN2A) has been shown to disturb spinal GluN2A/SHP1 interaction and inhibit inflammatory pain. Here we found that SHP1 was also located at dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and formed complexes with GluN2A subunit. Peripheral inflammation activated SHP1 in DRG neurons, which promoted GluN2A tyrosine phosphorylation. The SHP1 binding to GluN2A facilitated the glutamate release from primary afferent fibers and exaggerated nociceptive synaptic transmission onto postsynaptic spinal cord neurons. Our data showed that intradermal application of pep-GluN2A disrupted GluN2A/SHP1 interaction in DRG neurons, attenuated the ability of GluN2A subunit-containing NMDA receptors to regulate the presynaptic glutamate release and more importantly, alleviated the pain hypersensitivity caused by carrageenan, complete Freund's adjuvant and formalin. The neuropathic pain induced by spared nerve injury was also ameliorated by intradermal pep-GluN2A application. These data suggested that disruption of GluN2A/SHP1 interaction in DRG neurons generated an effective analgesic action against pathological pain.

Ubiquitination and inhibition of glycine receptor by HUWE1 in spinal cord dorsal horn.

Glycine receptors (GlyRs) are pentameric proteins that consist of α (α1-α4) subunits and/or ß subunit. In the spinal cord of adult animals, the majority of inhibitory glycinergic neurotransmission is mediated by α1 subunit-containing GlyRs. The reduced glycinergic inhibition (disinhibition) is proposed to increase the excitabilities and spontaneous activities of spinal nociceptive neurons during pathological pain. However, the molecular mechanisms by which peripheral lesions impair GlyRs-α1-mediated synaptic inhibition remain largely unknown. Here we found that activity-dependent ubiquitination of GlyRs-α1 subunit might contribute to glycinergic disinhibition after peripheral inflammation. Our data showed that HUWE1 (HECT, UBA, WWE domain containing 1), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, located at spinal synapses and specifically interacted with GlyRs-α1 subunit. By ubiquitinating GlyRs-α1, HUWE1 reduced the surface expression of GlyRs-α1 through endocytic pathway. In the dorsal horn of Complete Freund's Adjuvant-injected mice, shRNA-mediated knockdown of HUWE1 blunted GlyRs-α1 ubiquitination, potentiated glycinergic synaptic transmission and attenuated inflammatory pain. These data implicated that ubiquitin modification of GlyRs-α1 represented an important way for peripheral inflammation to reduce spinal glycinergic inhibition and that interference with HUWE1 activity generated analgesic action by resuming GlyRs-α1-mediated synaptic transmission.

Activity-dependent Synaptic Recruitment of Neuroligin 1 in Spinal Dorsal Horn Contributed to Inflammatory Pain.

Neuroligin 1 (NLGN1), a cell adhesion molecule present at excitatory glutamatergic synapses, has been shown to be critical for synaptic specialization and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-subtype glutamate receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity. Whether and how NLGN1 is engaged in nociceptive behavioral sensitization remains largely unknown. In this study, we found an activity-dependent regulation of NLGN1 synaptic expression in pain-related spinal cord dorsal horns of mice. The enhancement of neuronal activity by pharmacological activation of NMDA receptor (NMDAR) or removal of GABAergic inhibition in intact mice significantly increased NLGN1 concentration at synaptosomal membrane fraction. Intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) also increased the NLGN1 expression at synapses. NMDAR might act through Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and Src-family protein tyrosine kinase member Fyn to induce the synaptic redistribution of NLGN1. We also found that one of the important roles of NLGN1 was to facilitate the clustering of NMDAR at synapses. The NLGN1-targeting siRNA suppressed the synaptic expression of GluN2B-containing NMDAR in CFA-injected mice and meanwhile, attenuated the inflammatory mechanical allodynia and thermal hypersensitivity. These data suggested that tissue injury-induced synaptic redistribution of NLGN1 was involved in the development of pain hypersensitivity through facilitating the synaptic incorporation of NMDARs.

Enhanced Activities of δ Subunit-containing GABAA Receptors Blocked Spinal Long-term Potentiation and Attenuated Formalin-induced Spontaneous Pain.

The δ subunit-containing γ-Aminobutyric acid type A receptors (δ-GABAARs) are located at extrasynaptic sites and persistently active in the control of neuronal excitability. Here we recorded primary afferent C fiber-evoked field potentials in the superficial dorsal horn of rat spinal cords in vivo and investigated the possible influence of δ-GABAARs activities on nociceptive synaptic transmission. We found that δ-GABAARs-preferring agonist 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolol [4,5-c] pyridine-3-ol (THIP), when topically applied onto spinal cord dorsum, inhibited the basal synaptic responses in a dose-dependent manner. Low-frequency stimulation (LFS) of sciatic nerves elicited long-term potentiation (LTP) of C fiber transmission, a synaptic correlate of central sensitization. Pretreatment with THIP before LFS delivery blocked the induction of LTP. When applied at 30 min and 180 min post-LFS, THIP reduced the magnitudes of established LTP. Intraplantar injection of formalin naturally evoked LTP in anesthetized rats. Spinal administration of THIP not only reversed formalin-induced LTP, but alleviated the spontaneous painful behaviors and mechanical hyperalgesia. Biochemical analysis demonstrated that δ-GABAARs activation by THIP decreased the synaptic expression and phosphorylation of AMPA receptor GluA1 subunit in formalin-injected rats, and meanwhile, increased synaptic GluA2 content, allowing the switch of GluA2-lacking AMPA receptors to GluA2-containing ones at synapses. THIP also suppressed the synaptic accumulation and phosphorylation of NMDA receptor GluN1 subunit in formalin-injected rats. Our data suggested that enhanced δ-GABAARs activities blunted the initiation and maintenance of spinal LTP, which correlated with the amelioration of central sensitization of nociceptive behaviors.

Activation of JNKs is essential for BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

Although BMP9 is highly capable of promoting osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs), the molecular mechanism involved remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we explore the possible involvement and detail role of JNKs (c-Jun N-terminal kinases) in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. It was found that BMP9 stimulated the activation of JNKs in MSCs. BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs was dramatically inhibited by JNKs inhibitor SP600125. Moreover, BMP9-activated Smads signaling was decreased by SP600125 treatment in MSCs. The effects of inhibitor are reproduced with adenoviruses expressing siRNA targeted JNKs. Taken together, our results revealed that JNKs was activated in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. What is most noteworthy, however, is that inhibition of JNKs activity resulted in reduction of BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, implying that activation of JNKs is essential for BMP9 osteoinductive activity.