Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
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Tuina is a treatment method in traditional Chinese medicine which has analgesic effects and effectively alleviates the symptoms of neuropathic pain (NP). Transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) and transient receptor potential ankyrin type 1 (TRPA1) play major roles in transmitting nociceptive sensory signals in the nociceptive primary sensory dorsal root ganglion (DRG) nerve. The nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate(cGMP) pathway exerts both nociceptive and antinociceptive effects in various chronic pain models. ⋯ Similarly, the expression of TRPV1, TRPA1, NO, soluble guanylate cyclase β (sGCβ), cGMP, and PKG1 was significantly decreased in the DRG of the tuina and tuina + TRPV1/TRPA1 antagonist group was significantly decreased. These findings suggest that the tuina intervention can effectively improve the symptoms of thermal and mechanical allodynia caused by peripheral nerve injuries. Tuina exerts immediate analgesic effects through the TRPV1/TRPA1-NO-cGMP-PKG signaling pathway.
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Although previous studies suggest that Piezo2 regulates chronic pain in the orofacial area, few studies have reported the direct evidence of Piezo2's involvement in inflammatory and neuropathic pain in the orofacial region. In this study, we used male Sprague Dawley rats to investigate the role of the Piezo2 pathway in the development of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. The present study used interleukin (IL)-1β-induced pronociception as an inflammatory pain model. ⋯ Furthermore, subcutaneous and intracisternal injections of a Piezo2 inhibitor blocked neuropathic mechanical allodynia. These results suggest that the Piezo2 pathway plays a critical role in the development of inflammatory and neuropathic pain in the orofacial area. Therefore, blocking the Piezo2 pathway could be the foundation for developing new therapeutic strategies to treat orofacial pain conditions.