Objective

2

To observe the effects of point-moxibustion with

Zhuang

medicinal thread on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG)

tissue morphology

and the expression of Fc epsilon RI (FcεRI) pathway proteins spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) and membrane spanning 4-domain A2 (MS4A2) in rat model of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)

and to explore the potential mechanism by which this therapy alleviates pain sensitization.

Methods

2

Thirty-nine male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a control group

a model group

and a moxibustion group

with 13 rats in each group. The PHN model was established in the model and moxibustion groups by intraperitoneal injection of resiniferatoxin. In the moxibustion group

bilateral L

4

-L

6

"Jiaji" (EX-B2) points were treated with point-moxibustion with

Zhuang

medicinal thread from day 7 post

-modeling

with two cones per acupoint per session

every other day for a total of 10 sessions. Mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) were measured at 1 day before modeling and on days 1

4

7

13

19

and 25 after modeling. After intervention

HE staining was used to observe DRG morphology. RNA sequencing was performed to analyze DEGs in DRG and conduct bioinformatics analysis. The expression of Syk and MS4A2 mRNA and proteins in the FcεRI pathway in DRG was detected by quantitative PCR and Western blot.

Results

2

Compared with the control group

the model group exhibited decreased MWT (

P

<

0.05) and increased TWL (

P

<

0.05); histopathological analysis revealed neuronal atrophy

nuclear displacement

and intracellular vacuoles

with a slightly loose arrangement; the RNA-Seq identified 3

207 DEGs (1

997 upregulated and 1

210 downregulated); the mRNA and protein expression levels of Syk and MS4A2 were significantly increased (

P

<

0.01). Compared with the model group

the moxibustion group showed increased MWT (

P

<

0.05) and decreased TWL (

P

<

0.05)

with relatively normal neuronal morphology; the RNA-Seq identified 426 DEGs (250 upregulated and 176 downregulated); the mRNA and protein expression levels of Syk and MS4A2 were significantly decreased (

P

<

0.05). Venn diagram analysis identified 156 DEGs that showed a reversal in expression trends after treatment

including Syk and MS4A2

which are associated with pain sensitization. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that these DEGs were primarily enriched in the FcεRI pathway.

Conclusion

2

Point-moxibustion with

Zhuang

medicinal thread could alleviate pain sensitization in PHN rats

possibly by inhibiting the FcεRI signaling pathway and downregulating the expression of Syk and MS4A2.