ArticlePain2020
The transition from acute to chronic pain: dynamic epigenetic reprogramming of the mouse prefrontal cortex up to 1 year after nerve injury.
Article in Pain, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perioperative Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Reduces Postoperative Pain in Patients Undergoing Thoracoscopic Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Pain research & management · 2024Trial
- Glial cells in neuropathic pain.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Exercise, Demethylase FTO, Neurological Disorders, and Neuropathic Pain: Potential Molecular Mechanisms.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Article
- Dorsal Root Ganglion as a Hub for Peripheral Sensitization: A Hierarchical Regulation Model and Translational Progress.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Epigenetic, chromatin-associated, and epitranscriptomic regulation in chronic pain: mechanisms and translational prospects.Frontiers in genetics · 2026Review
- Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Decoding pain chronification: mechanisms of the acute-to-chronic transition.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2025Review
- The Role of Lifestyle Behaviors in Shaping the Relationship Between Chronic Pain and Epigenetic Age Acceleration: Evidence From NHANES 1998 to 2002.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Epigenetic Landscapes of Pain: DNA Methylation Dynamics in Chronic Pain.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Clinical-Genomic Analysis of 1261 Patients with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Outlines an Articulo-Autonomic Gene Network (Entome).Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
- The Epigenetics of Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Update.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Methyl-CpG binding domain 2 (Mbd2) is an epigenetic regulator of autism-risk genes and cognition.Translational psychiatry · 2023Article
- Review
- Intraperitoneal 5-Azacytidine Alleviates Nerve Injury-Induced Pain in Rats by Modulating DNA Methylation.Molecular neurobiology · 2023Article
- Identification of Epigenetic Interactions between MicroRNA-30c-5p and DNA Methyltransferases in Neuropathic Pain.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- DNA Methylation and Non-Coding RNAs during Tissue-Injury Associated Pain.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Neuroinflammation in the medial prefrontal cortex exerts a crucial role in bone cancer pain.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Article
- The Colonic Mucosal MicroRNAs, MicroRNA-219a-5p, and MicroRNA-338-3p Are Downregulated in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Are Associated With Barrier Function and MAPK Signaling.Gastroenterology · 2021Article
- Interacting with virtual objects via embodied avatar hands reduces pain intensity and diverts attention.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Chronic pain is associated with persistent structural and functional changes throughout the neuroaxis, including in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The PFC is important in the integration of sensory, cognitive, and emotional information and in conditioned pain modulation. We previously reported widespread epigenetic reprogramming in the PFC many months after nerve injury in rodents. Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, can drive changes in gene expression without modifying DNA sequences. To date, little is known about epigenetic dysregulation at the onset of acute pain or how it progresses as pain transitions from acute to chronic. We hypothesize that acute pain after injury results in rapid and persistent epigenetic remodelling in the PFC that evolves as pain becomes chronic. We further propose that understanding epigenetic remodelling will provide insights into the mechanisms driving pain-related changes in the brain. Epigenome-wide analysis was performed in the mouse PFC 1 day, 2 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after peripheral injury using the spared nerve injury in mice. Spared nerve injury resulted in rapid and persistent changes in DNA methylation, with robust differential methylation observed between spared nerve injury and sham-operated control mice at all time points. Hundreds of differentially methylated genes were identified, including many with known function in pain. Pathway analysis revealed enrichment in genes related to stimulus response at early time points, immune function at later time points, and actin and cytoskeletal regulation throughout the time course. These results emphasize the importance of considering pain chronicity in both pain research and in treatment optimization.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.