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Hevin/Sparcl1 drives pathological pain through spinal cord astrocyte and NMDA receptor signaling
Gang Chen, … , Cagla Eroglu, Ru-Rong Ji
Gang Chen, … , Cagla Eroglu, Ru-Rong Ji
Published October 18, 2022
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2022;7(23):e161028. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.161028.
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Research Article Neuroscience

Hevin/Sparcl1 drives pathological pain through spinal cord astrocyte and NMDA receptor signaling

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Abstract

High endothelial venule protein/SPARC-like 1 (hevin/Sparcl1) is an astrocyte-secreted protein that regulates synapse formation in the brain. Here we show that astrocytic hevin signaling plays a critical role in maintaining chronic pain. Compared with WT mice, hevin-null mice exhibited normal mechanical and heat sensitivity but reduced inflammatory pain. Interestingly, hevin-null mice have faster recovery than WT mice from neuropathic pain after nerve injury. Intrathecal injection of WT hevin was sufficient to induce persistent mechanical allodynia in naive mice. In hevin-null mice with nerve injury, adeno-associated-virus–mediated (AAV-mediated) re-expression of hevin in glial fibrillary acidic protein–expressing (GFAP-expressing) spinal cord astrocytes could reinstate neuropathic pain. Mechanistically, hevin is crucial for spinal cord NMDA receptor (NMDAR) signaling. Hevin-potentiated N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) currents are mediated by GluN2B-containing NMDARs. Furthermore, intrathecal injection of a neutralizing Ab against hevin alleviated acute and persistent inflammatory pain, postoperative pain, and neuropathic pain. Secreted hevin that was detected in mouse cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and nerve injury significantly increased CSF hevin abundance. Finally, neurosurgery caused rapid and substantial increases in SPARCL1/HEVIN levels in human CSF. Collectively, our findings support a critical role of hevin and astrocytes in the maintenance of chronic pain. Neutralizing of secreted hevin with monoclonal Ab may provide a new therapeutic strategy for treating acute and chronic pain and NMDAR-medicated neurodegeneration.

Authors

Gang Chen, Jing Xu, Hao Luo, Xin Luo, Sandeep K. Singh, Juan J. Ramirez, Michael L. James, Joseph P. Mathew, Miles Berger, Cagla Eroglu, Ru-Rong Ji

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Figure 3

RNAScope images showing Sparcl1 expression in excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the SDH of VGLUT2:Ai9 mice.

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RNAScope images showing Sparcl1 expression in excitatory and inhibitory ...
(A) RNAScope images show colocalization of Sparcl1 (red) with VGLUT2+ excitatory neurons (green) and Slc32a1+ inhibitory neurons (blue). Top, merged low-magnification image. Scale bar: 50 μm. Bottom, merged and single-channel images enlarged from the box in the top panel. Filled arrows show Sparcl1+/VGLUT2+ excitatory neurons, open arrows show Sparcl1+/Slc32a1+ inhibitory neurons, and arrows with cross show only Sparcl1+ cells. Scale bar: 20 μm. (B) Quantification of the percentage of Sparcl1+ cells expressing VGLUT2 or Slc32a1 and the percentage of VGLUT2+ or Slc32a1+ cells expressing Sparcl1 in the SDH. n = 6 spinal cord sections from 3 mice. Data are shown as mean ± SEM.

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