Research Article Upregulation of EMMPRIN (OX47) in Rat Dorsal Root

Copyright © 2015 QunWang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are widely implicated in inflammation and tissue remodeling associated with various neurodegenerative diseases and play an important role in nociception and allodynia. Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) plays a key regulatory role for MMP activities. However, the role of EMMPRIN in the development of neuropathic pain is not clear. Western blotting, real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), and immunofluorescence were performed to determine the changes of messenger RNA and protein of EMMPRIN/OX47 and their cellular localization in the rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) after nerve injury. Paw withdrawal threshold test was examined to evaluate the pain behavior in spinal nerve ligation (SNL)model.The lentivirus containing OX47 shRNAwas injected into the DRG one day before SNL.The expression level of bothmRNA and protein of OX47wasmarkedly upregulated in ipsilateral DRG after SNL. OX47wasmainly expressed in the extracellular matrix of DRG. Administration of shRNA targeted against OX47 in vivo remarkably attenuated mechanical allodynia induced by SNL. In conclusion, peripheral nerve injury induced upregulation of OX47 in the extracellular matrix of DRG. RNA interference against OX47 significantly suppressed the expression of OX47 mRNA and the development of mechanical allodynia