Reportedly, TWIK-related spinal cord K+ (TRESK) deficiency in spinal cord neurons positively correlates with the mechanism underlying neuropathic pain (NP). However, the precise effects of TRESK on neurons of the spinal cord remain elusive. In the present study, we investigated the impact of TRESK silencing on spinal cord neurons to further elucidate the downstream mechanisms of TRESK. Herein, neurons of the dorsal spinal cord were cultured as a cell model for investigations. Apoptosis, oxidative stress, and DNA damage-related proteins were evaluated. Additionally, flow cytometry, microarray profiling, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), western blotting, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), immunofluorescence, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were performed. In cultured neurons, the downregulation of TRESK mRNA expression induced apoptosis of dorsal spinal cord neurons. Using real-time PCR and western blotting, the upregulation of LncRNA Gm11874 (Gm11874) and ATP5i, screened from the gene chip, was confirmed. On silencing TRESK, expression levels of γ-H2AX, poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1), FoxO1, FoxO3, MitoSOX, malondialdehyde (MDA), and 8-hydroxy-2' -deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), which are known indices of oxidative stress and DNA damage, were significantly elevated. Moreover, ATP induced oxidative stress, DNA damage, and apoptosis were reduced by ATP5i siRNA. Finally, Gm11874 and ATP5i were co-expressed in spinal cord neurons in a FISH experiment, and the expression of ATP5i was positively regulated by Gm11874. These results implied that ATP5i induced oxidative stress and DNA damage, resulting in neuronal apoptosis, and Gm11874 was confirmed to act upstream of ATP5i. Our study revealed that TRESK silencing upregulated Gm11874 to induce apoptosis of spinal cord neurons, which resulted in ATP5i promoting oxidative stress and DNA damage. These findings could highlight the TRESK-mediated NP mechanism.
Keywords: ATP5i; Apoptosis; Gm11874; Oxidative stress; Spinal cord neurons; TRESK.