Papers of the Week

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) is a Class IIb histone deacetylase, which is primarily localized to the cytoplasm and plays an important role in cell structure and dynamism, transcriptional repression, exocytosis and endocytocis. Preclinical evidence has suggested that HDAC6 inhibitors alleviate signs of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), such as mechanical allodynia. However, no group to our knowledge has investigated the mechanism of action of HDAC6 inhibitors in a severe nerve injury model, which has a different pathophysiology than milder models such as CIPN. In this study we use genetically modified mice and the tibial spared nerve injury (SNI) model to determine the impact of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) specific HDAC6 knockout in the induction and maintenance of sensory hypersensitivity. Downregulation of HDAC6 in the DRG was achieved by injection of the left sciatic nerve of adult male HDAC6 mice with AAV8-CMV-Cre-EGFP or AAV8-CMV-EGFP vectors. DRG-knockdown of HDAC6 prevented the development of mechanical allodynia after SNI. Using in situ hybridization (RNAScope), we also demonstrate that HDAC6 is upregulated at three weeks after the induction of nerve injury in L3-6 DRG neurons. Furthermore, treatment with the peripherally acting HDAC6 inhibitor ACY1215 (Regenacy Pharmaceuticals, Waltham, MA) after SNI leads to full recovery from mechanical allodynia. We are continuing this work by performing bulk RNA sequencing on L3-6 DRGs from mice who received 21 days of treatment with ACY1215 or vehicle starting at three weeks after SNI or Sham operation, in order to understand the transcriptomic events and upstream pathways associated with recovery from prolonged neuropathic states. Our findings highlight a promising therapeutic role of HDAC6 inhibitors for the prevention or recovery from sensory hypersensitivity behaviors associated with prolonged peripheral nerve injury. Our future work aims to define the mechanisms underlying HDAC6 action in the DRG and identify new pathways associated with recovery from sensory hypersensitivity to influence novel treatment strategies for pain.