Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · Sep 2015
Pain from intra-articular NGF or joint injury in the rat requires contributions from peptidergic joint afferents.
Non-physiological stretch of the cervical facet joint's capsular ligament induces persistent behavioral hypersensitivity and spinal neuronal hyperexcitability via an intra-articular NGF-dependent mechanism. Although that ligament is innervated by nociceptors, it is unknown if a subpopulation is exclusively responsible for the behavioral and spinal neuronal responses to intra-articular NGF and/or facet joint injury. This study ablated joint afferents using the neurotoxin saporin targeted to neurons involved in either peptidergic ([Sar(9),Met (O2)(11)]-substance P-saporin (SSP-Sap)) or non-peptidergic (isolectin B4-saporin (IB4-Sap)) signaling to investigate the contributions of those neuronal populations to facet-mediated pain. ⋯ Similarly, only SSP- Sap prevents the increase in mechanical forepaw stimulation- induced firing of spinal neurons after intra-articular NGF. In addition, intra-articular SSP-Sap prevents both behavioral hypersensitivity and upregulation of NGF in the dorsal root ganglion after a facet joint distraction that normally induces pain. These findings collectively suggest that disruption of peptidergic signaling within the joint may be a potential treatment for facet pain, as well as other painful joint conditions associated with elevated NGF, such as osteoarthritis.
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Neuroscience letters · Sep 2015
Relationship between cerebral sodium-glucose transporter and hyperglycemia in cerebral ischemia.
Post-ischemic hyperglycemia exacerbates the development of cerebral ischemia. To elucidate this exacerbation mechanism, we focused on sodium-glucose transporter (SGLT) as a mediator that lead hyperglycemia to cerebral ischemia. SGLT transport glucose into the cell, together with sodium ion, using the sodium concentration gradient. ⋯ Our in vitro study indicates that SGLT is not involved in neuronal cell death in non-hyperglycemic condition. We have already reported that post-ischemic hyperglycemia begins to develop at 6h after MCAO. Therefore, current our in vivo study show post-ischemic hyperglycemic condition may be necessary for the SGLT-mediated exacerbation of cerebral ischemic neuronal damage.