The emerging power and promise of non-coding RNAs in chronic pain

Changteng Zhang; Rui Gao; Ruihao Zhou; Hai Chen; Changliang Liu; Tao Zhu; Chan Chen

doi:10.3389/fnmol.2022.1037929

The emerging power and promise of non-coding RNAs in chronic pain

Front Mol Neurosci. 2022 Nov 3:15:1037929. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.1037929. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Changteng Zhang^{1

2}, Rui Gao^{1

2}, Ruihao Zhou^{1

2}, Hai Chen^{3

4}, Changliang Liu^{1

2}, Tao Zhu^{1

2}, Chan Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and The Research Units of West China (2018RU012), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China.
² Laboratory of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centre of Translational Medicine of Anesthesiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
³ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Medical School/West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁴ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Targeted Tracer Research and Development Laboratory, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Abstract

Chronic pain (CP) is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage lasting longer than 3 months. CP is the main reason why people seek medical care and exerts an enormous economic burden. Genome-wide expression analysis has revealed that diverse essential genetic elements are altered in CP patients. Although many possible mechanisms of CP have been revealed, we are still unable to meet all the analgesic needs of patients. In recent years, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been shown to play essential roles in peripheral neuropathy and axon regeneration, which is associated with CP occurrence and development. Multiple key ncRNAs have been identified in animal models of CP, such as microRNA-30c-5p, ciRS-7, and lncRNA MRAK009713. This review highlights different kinds of ncRNAs in the regulation of CP, which provides a more comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. It mainly focuses on the contributions of miRNAs, circRNAs, and lncRNAs to CP, specifically peripheral neuropathic pain (NP), diabetic NP, central NP associated with spinal cord injury, complex regional pain syndrome, inflammatory pain, and cancer-induced pain. In addition, we summarize some potential ncRNAs as novel biomarkers for CP and its complications. With an in-depth understanding of the mechanism of CP, ncRNAs may provide novel insight into CP and could become new therapeutic targets in the future.

Keywords: biomarker; chronic pain; circular RNA; long non-coding RNA; microRNA; non-coding RNA.

Publication types

Review