• Liang-Ta Yen, Ching-Liang Hsieh, Hsin-Cheng Hsu, and Yi-Wen Lin.
• College of Chinese Medicine, Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
• Acupunct Med. 2020 Jun 1; 38 (3): 188-193.

BackgroundFibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome involving chronic pain, fatigue, sleep difficulties, morning stiffness and muscle cramping lasting longer than 3 months. The epidemiological prevalence is approximately 3-5% in women and increases with age. Antagonism of acid-sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3) reportedly attenuates acid saline-induced FM pain in mice.AimsWhether pre-treatment with electroacupuncture (EA) or APETx2 can attenuate mechanical hyperalgesia in this murine model remains unknown.MethodsAccordingly, we examined the analgesic effect of EA in a murine model of FM pain induced by dual injections of acid saline and investigated whether EA or APETx2 can attenuate FM pain via the ASIC3 channel.ResultsEA significantly reduced mechanical hyperalgesia in this model. ASIC3 antagonism, induced by injecting APETx2, also significantly reduced mechanical hyperalgesia. The expression of ASIC3 in the dorsal root ganglia, spinal cord and thalamus was increased after FM model induction. Over-expression of these nociceptive channels was attenuated by pre-treatment with EA or an ASIC3 antagonist.ConclusionOur data reveal that both EA and ASIC3 blockade significantly reduce FM pain in mice via the ASIC3, Nav1.7 and Nav1.8 signalling pathways. Moreover, our findings support the potential clinical use of EA for the treatment of FM pain.

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