Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Counteract CGRP Signaling and Pronociceptive Sensitization in a Rat Model of Medication Overuse Headache

Chronic triptan exposure in rodents recapitulates medication overuse headache (MOH), causing cephalic pain sensitization and trigeminal ganglion overexpression of pronociceptive proteins including CGRP. Because of these transcriptional derangements, as well as the emerging role of epigenetics in chronic pain, in the present study, we evaluated the effects of the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) panobinostat and givinostat, in rats chronically exposed to eletriptan for 1 month. Both panobinostat and givinostat counteracted overexpression of genes coding for CGRP and its receptor subunit RAMP1, having no effects on CLR and RCP receptor subunits in the trigeminal ganglion (TG) of eletriptan-exposed rats. Within the trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNc), transcripts for these genes were neither upregulated by eletriptan nor altered by concomitant treatment with panobinostat or givinostat. HDACis counteracted hypersensitivity to capsaicin-induced vasodilatation in the trigeminal territory, as well as photophobic behavior and cephalic allodyniain eletriptan-exposed rats. Eletriptan did not affect CGRP, CLR, and RAMP1 expression in cultured trigeminal ganglia, whereas both inhibitors reduced transcripts for CLR and RAMP-1. The drugs, however, increased luciferase expression driven by CGRP promoter in cultured cells. Our findings provide evidence for a key role of HDACs and epigenetics in MOH pathogenesis, highlighting the therapeutic potential of HDAC inhibition in the prevention of migraine chronification. PERSPECTIVE: The present study highlights a key epigenetic role of HDAC in the rodent model of medication overuse headache, furthering our understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for pronociceptive sensitization during headache chronification.