• Hong-Hong Zhang, Ji Hu, You-Lang Zhou, Xin Qin, Zhen-Yuan Song, Pan-Pan Yang, Shufen Hu, Xinghong Jiang, and Guang-Yin Xu.
• Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Translational Research and Therapy for Neuro-Psycho-Diseases, Institute of Neuroscience, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
• Diabetes. 2015 Dec 1; 64 (12): 4272-84.

AbstractPainful diabetic neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes produced by mechanisms that as yet are incompletely defined. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in the regulation of purinergic receptor P2X ligand-gated ion channel 3 (P2X3R) plasticity in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons of rats with painful diabetes. Here, we showed that hindpaw pain hypersensitivity in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats was attenuated by treatment with purinergic receptor antagonist suramin or A-317491. The expression and function of P2X3Rs was markedly enhanced in hindpaw-innervated DRG neurons in diabetic rats. The CpG (cytosine guanine dinucleotide) island in the p2x3r gene promoter region was significantly demethylated, and the expression of DNA methyltransferase 3b was remarkably downregulated in DRGs in diabetic rats. The binding ability of p65 (an active form of NF-κB) with the p2x3r gene promoter region and p65 expression were enhanced significantly in diabetes. The inhibition of p65 signaling using the NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate or recombinant lentiviral vectors designated as lentiviral vector-p65 small interfering RNA remarkably suppressed P2X3R activities and attenuated diabetic pain hypersensitivity. Insulin treatment significantly attenuated pain hypersensitivity and suppressed the expression of p65 and P2X3Rs. Our findings suggest that the p2x3r gene promoter DNA demethylation and enhanced interaction with p65 contributes to P2X3R sensitization and diabetic pain hypersensitivity. © 2015 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered.

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