Proteomic Modulation in the Dorsal Spinal Cord Following SCS therapy in an in vivo Neuropathic Pain Model

Neuropathic pain is influenced by proteins and their expression levels, collectively known as the proteome. Following an injury, these proteins facilitate pain perception and healing. At the spinal cord level, pain signals activate glial cells, contributing to a chronic pain state and altering the neural tissue's proteomic profile. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a treatment for neuropathic pain that involves applying electrical fields to the spinal cord. SCS has been shown to affect protein expression in neurons and glial cells, impacting the proteome and key elements in chronic pain development. This study investigates how SCS affects protein changes in a neuropathic pain animal model. Proteomic analysis was conducted after inducing a peripheral nerve injury and applying SCS therapy to understand the segmental mechanism by which SCS induces analgesia.

• 1
  SCS significantly improved mechanical sensitivity in animals with neuropathic pain after 48 hours of therapy.
• 2
  Proteomic analysis identified 5,840 proteins, with 155 significantly affected by SCS. Many of these proteins are linked to stress response, oxidation/reduction, extracellular matrix pathways, neuron-glial interactions, and nociception.
• 3
  SCS modulates proteins involved in ECM remodeling, redox pathways, stress response, and metabolic processes, suggesting a reversal of the injury-induced proteomic state.