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A genetically defined mPFC-thalamic circuit underlies pain chronicity

ABSTRACT: Chronic pain is a major health care problem with great social and economic consequences. Although the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the thalamus have been implicated in regulating pain, whether and how these regions may involve in pain chronification process have remained largely unknown. Here, we show that Foxp2+ neurons in mPFC, which are corticothalamic (CT) neurons representing the major mPFC output to thalamus, are deactivated in chronic inflammatory pain. Interestingly, prolonged, but not short-term, inactivation of the Foxp2+ neurons in mPFC increases the sensitivity to noxious stimulations. Conversely, chemogenetic activation of this neuronal cluster induces robust antinociceptive effects in both naïve mice and mice with chronic inflammatory pain. Furthermore, we found that the mPFC Foxp2+ neurons project to several thalamic relay nuclei and that activation of the mPFC to the parataenial nucleus of thalamus (PTN) circuit relieves pain. Finally, RNA-seq of the mPFC Foxp2+ neurons revealed that many genes related to neuronal activity are dysregulated in mice with chronic inflammatory pain. Collectively, our studies revealed that Foxp2+ neurons in mPFC that project to thalamus play a critical role in somatosensory processing and pain chronification.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE243136 | GEO | 2023/09/16

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Neuropathic pain is a chronic debilitating condition with a high comorbidity with depression. Clinical reports and animal studies have suggested that both the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are critically implicated in regulating the affective symptoms of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain induces long-term structural, functional and biochemical changes in both regions, which are thought to be regulated by multiple waves of gene transcription. However, the similarity and differences in the transcriptomic profiles changed by neuropathic pain between these regions are largely unknown. Furthermore, women are more susceptible to pain and depression than men. The molecular mechanisms underlying this sexual dimorphism remain to be explored. Here, we performed RNA sequencing and analyzed the transcriptomic profiles of the mPFC and ACC of female and male mice at 2 weeks after spared nerve injury (SNI), an early time point when the mice began to show mild depressive symptoms. Our results show that the SNI-induced transcriptomic changes in female and male mice are largely distinct. Interestingly, the female mice exhibit more robust transcriptomic changes in the ACC than male, whereas the opposite pattern occurs in the mPFC. Cell type enrichment analyses reveal that the differentially expressed genes involve genes enriched in both neurons and various types of glia. We further performed Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), which reveal significant de-enrichment of myelin sheath development in both female and male mPFC after SNI. In the female ACC, gene sets for synaptic organization and mitochondria function are enriched, and gene sets for extracellular matrix are de-enriched after SNI, while such signatures are absent in male ACC. Collectively, these findings reveal sexual dimorphism at the transcriptional level induced by neuropathic pain, and provide novel therapeutic targets for chronic pain and its associated affective disorders.

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A genetically defined mPFC-thalamic circuit underlies pain chronicity

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