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Molecular basis of FAAH-OUT-associated human pain insensitivity

Mikaeili, H.; Habib, A. M.; Yeung, C.; Santana-Varela, S.; Luiz, A. P.; Panteleeva, K.; Zuberi, S.; Athanasiou-Fragkouli, A.; Houlden, H.; Wood, J. N.; Okorokov, A. L.; Cox, J. J.

2022-10-20 neuroscience
10.1101/2022.10.20.513066 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Chronic pain affects millions of people worldwide. Studying pain insensitive individuals helps to identify novel analgesic strategies. Here we report how the recently discovered FAAH-OUT lncRNA-encoding gene, which was found from studying a pain insensitive patient with reduced anxiety and fast wound healing, regulates the adjacent key endocannabinoid system gene FAAH, which encodes the anandamide-degrading fatty acid amide hydrolase enzyme. We demonstrate that the disruption in FAAH-OUT lncRNA transcription leads to DNMT1-dependent DNA methylation within the FAAH promoter. In addition, FAAH-OUT contains a conserved regulatory element, FAAH-AMP, that acts as an enhancer for FAAH expression. Furthermore, using transcriptomic analyses we have uncovered a network of genes that are dysregulated from disruption of the FAAH-FAAH-OUT axis, thus providing a coherent mechanistic basis to understand the human phenotype observed and a platform for development of future gene and small molecule therapies.

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