LAUSR

The emerging role of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been deeply explored in multiple diseases including neuropathic pain. miR‐194 was widely reported to be a tumor suppressor and was related to the inflammatory response. The critical role of neuroinflammation on neuropathic pain leads to a thinking about the relationship between miR‐194 and neuropathic pain. However, the function of miR‐194 in neuropathic pain remains unknown. This study was aimed to explore the relationship between miR‐194 and neuropathic pain progression by chronic sciatic nerve injury (CCI). miR‐194 abnormally downregulated in the CCI model rat and its overexpression significantly alleviates neuroinflammation in vivo. We predict Forkhead box protein A1 (FOXA1) as a direct target of miR‐194, whose restoration can markedly reverse the effects of miR‐194 on neuropathic pain. Overall, our study demonstrated a novel mechanism of neuropathic pain progression that miR‐194 alleviates neuropathic pain via targeting FOXA1 and preventing neuroinflammation by downregulating inflammatory cytokines containing cyclooxygenase 2, interleukin 6 (IL‐6), and IL‐10 in vivo, which can be reversed by the overexpression of FOXA1.