Brain research bulletin
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Brain research bulletin · Apr 2011
Effect of emodin on neuropathic pain transmission mediated by P2X2/3 receptor of primary sensory neurons.
Neuropathic pain is the most difficult type of pain to cure. The P2X(2/3) receptors play a crucial role in facilitating the transmission of pain at neuropathic pain states. Emodin is a natural anthraquinone in rhubarb. ⋯ The results showed that the application of emodin alleviated the hyperalgesia of CCI rats and significantly decreased the P2X(2/3) expression of L4/L5 DRG in CCI+emodin group compared with that in CCI+vehicle group (p<0.05). The data of ISH and RT-PCR in P2X(2) and P2X(3) mRNA expression suggest that the pharmacologic mechanism of emodin is involved in the nucleic acid level. The results showed that emodin can inhibit the transmission of neuropathic pain mediated by P2X(2/3) receptor of primary sensory neurons to alleviate chronic neuropathic pain.