Géranton Sandrine M, Tochiki Keri K
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK.
Curr Opin Support Palliat Care. 2015 Jun;9(2):138-46. doi: 10.1097/SPC.0000000000000127.
Aberrations in the epigenetic landscape have previously been associated with human diseases such as cancer and schizophrenia, and drugs that target epigenetic processes are currently used as therapeutic agents. This article will review the evidence obtained from animal studies indicating that epigenetic processes might regulate long-term pain states and then discuss the possibility that targeting epigenetic mechanisms might be useful for the management of chronic pain.
Recent animal studies have reported injury-induced changes in epigenetic processes in the central nervous system. The picture that has emerged is that of very complex epigenetic programs that depend on the injury. However, some studies have reported the successful use of nonspecific epigenetic tools to improve the hypersensitivity that develops in animal models of long-term pain states.
The field of epigenetics and pain is rapidly emerging but further investigation is needed to fully comprehend the contribution of epigenetic processes to chronic pain states. Although therapeutic approaches targeting these mechanisms might seem worthwhile, we cannot assert that currently available global tools such as histone deacetylase inhibitors can be used successfully for the long-term treatment of chronic pain states.
表观遗传格局异常先前已与癌症和精神分裂症等人类疾病相关联，目前靶向表观遗传过程的药物被用作治疗剂。本文将综述从动物研究中获得的证据，这些证据表明表观遗传过程可能调节长期疼痛状态，然后讨论靶向表观遗传机制可能对慢性疼痛管理有用的可能性。
最近的动物研究报告了中枢神经系统中损伤诱导的表观遗传过程变化。呈现出的情况是非常复杂的表观遗传程序，这取决于损伤。然而，一些研究报告了成功使用非特异性表观遗传工具来改善长期疼痛状态动物模型中出现的超敏反应。
表观遗传学与疼痛领域正在迅速兴起，但需要进一步研究以充分理解表观遗传过程对慢性疼痛状态的作用。尽管针对这些机制的治疗方法似乎值得一试，但我们不能断言目前可用的全局工具，如组蛋白去乙酰化酶抑制剂，可以成功用于慢性疼痛状态的长期治疗。
