Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 1994
Activated human platelets in plasma excite nociceptors in rat skin, in vitro.
Extravascular activation of thrombocytes may contribute to nociceptor excitation and pain, since platelets store and, upon stimulation, release potential algogenic substances such as serotonin, histamine and precursor molecules of bradykinin. To test this hypothesis, a skin-nerve preparation of rat hairy skin, in vitro, was used that allows to record and characterize single afferent nerve fibers. In a first protocol, receptive fields of nociceptive C-fibers, at the corium side of the skin patch, were exposed to adenosine diphosphate (ADP), to heparinized human platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and to PRP activated by ADP. ⋯ Frey) and thermal thresholds of the CMH units were not significantly altered. The findings demonstrate that nociceptors can indeed be driven and sensitized by activated platelets. This pain inducing mechanism may be relevant to certain clinical conditions, and it appears promising to scrutinize the chemical factors involved.