Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN
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Neuropathic pain results in considerable trouble to people's physical and mental health. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying its occurrence and development remain unclear. A large number of experiments show that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a major role in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain and neuroinflammation resulting from nerve injury. ⋯ Furthermore, the miR-221 inhibitor markedly suppressed the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) signaling pathway. Knockdown of SOCS1 in CCI rats abrogated the inhibitory effect of the miR-221 inhibitor on CCI-induced neuropathic pain and the NF-κB and p38 MAPK signaling pathways. Together, these results suggest that inhibition of miR-221 alleviates neuropathic pain and neuroinflammation through increasing SOCS1 and by inhibiting the NF-κB and p38 MAPK signaling pathways, indicating that miR-221 may be a promising molecular target for the treatment of neuropathic pain.