Quantitative proteomics analysis to identify biomarkers of chronic myofascial pain and therapeutic targets of dry needling in a rat model of myofascial trigger points

Abstract

BackgroundProteomics analysis may provide important information regarding the pathogenesis of chronic myofascial pain and the mechanisms underlying the treatment effects of dry needling.Materials and methodsThis study used a rat model of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) to perform a proteomics analysis. Three biological replicate experiments were used to compare the proteomes of healthy control rats, a rat model of MTrP, MTrP model rats following dry needling of MTrPs, and MTrP model rats following dry needling of non-MTrPs. Tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling technology based on nanoscale liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used. Hierarchical clustering, gene ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, and protein–protein interaction network analysis were performed to characterize the proteins. To validate the TMT results, three candidate biomarker proteins were verified using parallel reaction monitoring and Western blot analysis.ResultsA total of 2,635 proteins were identified. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathways played dominant roles in the pathogenesis of chronic myofascial pain. The three candidate biomarker proteins were the pyruvate kinase muscle isozyme (encoded by the PKM gene), the muscle isoform of glycogen phosphorylase (encoded by the PYGM gene), and myozenin 2 (encoded by the MYOZ2 gene). The validation results were consistent with the TMT results.ConclusionThis is the first proteomics study that has investigated the pathogenesis of chronic myofascial pain and the mechanisms underlying the treatment effects of dry needling in an in vivo rat model of MTrPs, which might promote our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying chronic myofascial pain.

Proteins and Signaling Pathways Response to Dry Needling Combined with Static Stretching Treatment for Chronic Myofascial Pain in a RAT Model: An Explorative Proteomic Study

“…Our previous study compared the healthy muscle to MTrPs muscle using proteomics technology and a total of 2635 proteins were identified [27]. This is the first study using TMT labeling proteomic technology on dry needling combined with static stretching treatment of MTrPs.…”

Comparative proteomic analysis of silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats based on tandem mass tag (TMT) quantitation technology

“…For protein quantization, the protein was required to contain at least one unique peptide. The quantitative protein ratios were weighted and normalized by the median ratio in Mascot [ 20 , 21 ]. For three biological replicates, the ratio of mean expression between model and control was defined as fold changes (FC).…”

Peripheral EphrinB1/EphB1 signalling attenuates muscle hyperalgesia in MPS patients and a rat model of taut band-associated persistent muscle pain

“…We used an animal model that was previously reported by Huang el al. 17,18 The schematic outline of the experimental workflow is showed in Figure 3(a). An active MTrP rat model was established by bluntly striking the left gastrocnemius muscle (GM) of SD rats followed by the performance of eccentric-based exercises for 8 weeks.…”