• L Zhang, F Stuber, C Lippuner, M Schiff, and U M Stamer.
• Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inselspital and Department of Clinical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland lan.zhang@dkf.unibe.ch.
• Br J Anaesth. 2016 Aug 1; 117 (2): 250257250-7.

BackgroundNociceptin in the peripheral circulation has been proposed to have an immunoregulatory role with regards to inflammation and pain. However, the mechanisms involved in its regulation are still not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate signalling pathways contributing to the regulation of the expression of nociceptin under inflammatory conditions.MethodsMono Mac 6 cells (MM6) were cultured with or without phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). Prepronociceptin (ppNOC) mRNA was detected by RT-qPCR and extracellular nociceptin by fluorescent-enzyme immunoassay. Intracellular nociceptin and phosphorylated kinases were measured using flow cytometry. To evaluate the contribution of various signalling pathways to the regulation of ppNOC mRNA and nociceptin protein, cells were pre-treated with specific kinase inhibitors before co-culturing with PMA.ResultsppNOC mRNA was expressed in untreated MM6 at low concentrations. Exposure of cells to PMA upregulated ppNOC after nine h compared with controls without PMA (median normalized ratio with IQR: 0.18 (0.15-0.26) vs. 0 (0-0.02), P<0.01). Inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinases specific for signal transduction reversed the PMA effects (all P<0.001). Induction of nociceptin protein concentrations in PMA stimulated MM6 was prevented predominantly by identity of ERK inhibitor (P<0.05).ConclusionsUpregulation of nociceptin expression by PMA in MM6 cells involves several pathways. Underlying mechanisms involved in nociceptin expression may lead to new insights in the treatment of pain and inflammatory diseases.© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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