Zhong Tao, Zhang Yanfeng, Guo Qulian, Yang Yong, Yan Jianqin, Dai Ruping, Wu Hui
Department of Anesthesiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China.
Neurochem Res. 2015 Jun;40(6):1179-87. doi: 10.1007/s11064-015-1578-1. Epub 2015 Apr 19.
Chronic neuropathic pain has currently become a remarkable public health concern, considerably damaging not only the physiological but also the psychological aspects of humans. This study investigated whether neuropathic pain affects maternal care and assessed the effect of parental neuropathic pain on the development of neuropathic pain and emotion among offspring. Our results showed that mother rats suffered from chronic constriction injury (CCI) exhibited defective maternal care. The offspring fed by CCI mother rats (own or cross-fed) showed a significant increase in anxiety and anxiety-related behavior compared with that fed by sham-operated mother rats. The offspring fed by CCI mother rats also displayed decreased oxytocin expression in their supraoptic nucleus than that fed by sham-operated mother rats. Moreover, DNA methyltransferase (DNMT)1 expression in the amygdale was increased, whereas DNMT3a and DNMT3b expressions remained the same in offspring fed by CCI mother rats, as detected with immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. In addition, the total DNA methylation in amygdale was upregulated in offspring fed by CCI mother rats. Considering the above findings, the data of this study suggest that parental neuropathic pain influences emotion-related behavior in offspring through maternal feeding behavior rather than through genetic factors and pregnancy experience that was associated with DNA methylation of amygdale in offspring.
慢性神经性疼痛目前已成为一个显著的公共卫生问题，不仅对人类的生理方面，而且对心理方面都造成了相当大的损害。本研究调查了神经性疼痛是否会影响母性行为，并评估了亲代神经性疼痛对后代神经性疼痛发展和情绪的影响。我们的结果表明，患有慢性缩窄性损伤（CCI）的母鼠表现出母性行为缺陷。与假手术母鼠喂养的后代相比，由CCI母鼠喂养（自身喂养或交叉喂养）的后代在焦虑及与焦虑相关的行为方面显著增加。由CCI母鼠喂养的后代与假手术母鼠喂养的后代相比，其视上核中的催产素表达也降低。此外，通过免疫组织化学和蛋白质印迹分析检测发现，在由CCI母鼠喂养的后代中，杏仁核中的DNA甲基转移酶（DNMT）1表达增加，而DNMT3a和DNMT3b的表达保持不变。此外，由CCI母鼠喂养的后代杏仁核中的总DNA甲基化上调。考虑到上述发现，本研究的数据表明，亲代神经性疼痛通过母性行为而非遗传因素和与后代杏仁核DNA甲基化相关的妊娠经历影响后代的情绪相关行为。
