Department of Urology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
Currently Proteintech Group Incorporated, Rosemont, Illinois, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2022 Aug 18;17(8):e0269140. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269140. eCollection 2022.
Chronic pelvic pain conditions such as interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) remain clinical and mechanistic enigmas. Microglia are resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that respond to changes in the gut microbiome, and studies have linked microglial activation to acute and chronic pain in a variety of models, including pelvic pain. We have previously reported that mice deficient for the lipase acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH) develop pelvic allodynia and exhibit symptoms, comorbidities, and gut dysbiosis mimicking IC/BPS. Here, we assessed the role of AOAH in microglial activation and pelvic pain. RNAseq analyses using the ARCHS4 database and confocal microscopy revealed that AOAH is highly expressed in wild type microglia but at low levels in astrocytes, suggesting a functional role for AOAH in microglia. Pharmacologic ablation of CNS microglia with PLX5622 resulted in decreased pelvic allodynia in AOAH-deficient mice and resurgence of pelvic pain upon drug washout. Skeletal analyses revealed that AOAH-deficient mice have an activated microglia morphology in the medial prefrontal cortex and paraventricular nucleus, brain regions associated with pain modulation. Because microglia express Toll-like receptors and respond to microbial components, we also examine the potential role of dysbiosis in microglial activation. Consistent with our hypothesis of microglia activation by leakage of gut microbes, we observed increased serum endotoxins in AOAH-deficient mice and increased activation of cultured BV2 microglial cells by stool of AOAH-deficient mice. Together, these findings demonstrate a role for AOAH in microglial modulation of pelvic pain and thus identify a novel therapeutic target for IC/BPS.
慢性盆腔疼痛病症,如间质性膀胱炎/膀胱疼痛综合征(IC/BPS),仍然是临床和机制上的谜。小胶质细胞是中枢神经系统(CNS)的常驻免疫细胞,对肠道微生物组的变化有反应,研究表明,小胶质细胞的激活与各种模型中的急性和慢性疼痛有关,包括盆腔疼痛。我们之前报道过,脂肪酶酰氧基酰基水解酶(AOAH)缺乏的小鼠会发展为盆腔痛觉过敏,并表现出类似于 IC/BPS 的症状、合并症和肠道微生物失调。在这里,我们评估了 AOAH 在小胶质细胞激活和盆腔疼痛中的作用。使用 ARCHS4 数据库和共聚焦显微镜进行的 RNAseq 分析表明,AOAH 在野生型小胶质细胞中高度表达,但在星形胶质细胞中表达水平较低,这表明 AOAH 在小胶质细胞中具有功能作用。用 PLX5622 对中枢神经系统小胶质细胞进行药理学消融导致 AOAH 缺陷小鼠的盆腔痛觉过敏减轻,并且药物洗脱后盆腔疼痛再次出现。骨骼分析显示,AOAH 缺陷小鼠的内侧前额叶皮层和室旁核中存在激活的小胶质细胞形态,这些脑区与疼痛调节有关。由于小胶质细胞表达 Toll 样受体并对微生物成分有反应,我们还研究了微生物失调在小胶质细胞激活中的潜在作用。与我们关于肠道微生物泄漏导致小胶质细胞激活的假设一致,我们观察到 AOAH 缺陷小鼠的血清内毒素增加,并且 AOAH 缺陷小鼠的粪便增加了培养的 BV2 小胶质细胞的激活。总之,这些发现表明 AOAH 在小胶质细胞调节盆腔疼痛中的作用,从而确定了 IC/BPS 的一个新的治疗靶点。
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