Journal of pharmacological sciences
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We investigated the effects of gabapentin and pregabalin on the itch-associated response in a mouse model of chronic dermatitis induced by the repeated application of 4-ethoxymethylene-2-phenyl-2-oxazolin-5-one (oxazolone). Challenging the mice with oxazolone-induced chronic dermatitis with the oxazolone evoked severe and transient scratching behavior until 1 h after the application of oxazolone. Thereafter, a more mild and continuous scratching behavior was also observed for at least 8 h. ⋯ Gabapentin failed to suppress the scratching behavior induced by the intradermal injection of compound 48/80 in normal mice. The expression of the α₂δ-1 subunit in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) from mice following repeated application of oxazolone was significantly higher than that from normal mice. These results suggest that gabapentin and pregabalin show an anti-pruritic activity through α₂δ-subunit binding, and the up-regulation of the α₂δ-1 subunit in DRG may therefore play an important role in its anti-pruritic activity.