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Papers of the Week


Papers: 14 Oct 2023 - 20 Oct 2023


2023 Oct 12


Neuroscience


37838283

CWC22-Mediated Alternative Splicing of Spp1 Regulates Nociception in Inflammatory Pain.

Authors

Song Y, Wang ZY, Luo J, Han WC, Wang XY, Yin C, Zhao WN, Hu SW, Zhang Q, Li YQ, Cao JL

Abstract

Increasing evidence suggests that alternative splicing plays a critical role in pain, but its underlying mechanism remains elusive. Herein, we employed complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) to induce inflammatory pain in mice. A combination of genomics research techniques, lentivirus-based genetic manipulations, behavioral tests, and molecular biological technologies confirmed that splicing factor Cwc22 mRNA and CWC22 protein were elevated in the spinal dorsal horn at 3 days after CFA injection. Knockdown of spinal CWC22 by lentivirus transfection (lenti-shCwc22) reversed CFA-induced thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia, whereas upregulation of spinal CWC22 (lenti-Cwc22) in naïve mice precipitated pain. Comprehensive transcriptome and genome analysis identified the secreted phosphoprotein 1 (Spp1) as a potential gene of CWC22-mediated alternative splicing, however, only Spp1 splicing variant 4 (Spp1 V4) was involved in thermal and mechanical nociceptive regulation. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that spinal CWC22 regulates Spp1 V4 to participate in CFA-induced inflammatory pain. Blocking CWC22 or CWC22-mediated alternative splicing may provide a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of persistent inflammatory pain.