Mol Pain
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Dry mouth is known to cause severe pain in the intraoral structures, and many dry mouth patients have been suffering from intraoral pain. In development of an appropriate treatment, it is crucial to study the mechanisms underlying intraoral pain associated with dry mouth, yet the detailed mechanisms are not fully understood. To evaluate the mechanisms underlying pain related to dry mouth, the dry-tongue rat model was developed. Hence, the mechanical or heat nocifensive reflex, the phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase and phosphorylated GluR1-IR immunohistochemistries, and the single neuronal activity were examined in the trigeminal spinal subnucleus caudalis of dry-tongue rats. ⋯ These findings suggest that the pERK-pGluR1 cascade is involved in central sensitization of trigeminal spinal subnucleus caudalis nociceptive neurons, thus resulting in tongue mechanical hyperalgesia associated with tongue drying.
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Lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 and Rho/ROCK signaling is implicated in bone cancer pain development. However, it remains unknown whether the two signaling pathways function together in P2X3 receptor-mediated bone cancer pain. ⋯ Lysophosphatidic acid and its receptor LPAR1, acting through the Rho-ROCK pathway, regulate P2X3 receptor in the development of both mechanical and spontaneous pain in bone cancer.
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Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) have shown potential to treat chronic pain, although much still needs to be learned about their efficacy and mechanisms of action under different pain conditions. Here, we provide further convergent evidence on the effects of BMSCs in rodent pain models. ⋯ Collectively, the present work adds convergent evidence supporting the use of BMSCs in pain control. As PKCg activity related to N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation is critical in opioid tolerance, these results help to understand the mechanisms of BMSC-produced long-term antihyperalgesia, which requires opioid receptors in rostral ventromedial medulla and apparently lacks the development of tolerance.
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There is an urgent need to develop and incorporate novel behavioral tests in classically used preclinical pain models. Most rodent studies are based upon stimulus-evoked hindpaw measurements even though chronic pain is usually a day and night experience. Chronic pain is indeed a debilitating condition that influences the sociability and the ability for voluntary tasks, but the relevant behavioral readouts for these aspects are mostly under-represented in the literature. Moreover, we lack standardization in most behavioral paradigms to guarantee reproducibility and ensure adequate discussion between different studies. This concerns not only the combination, application, and duration of particular behavioral tasks but also the effects of different housing conditions implicating social isolation. ⋯ This is the first longitudinal study providing detailed insights into various voluntary behavioral parameters related to pain and highlights the importance of social environment on spontaneous non-evoked behaviors in a mouse model of chronic neuropathy. Our results provide fundamental considerations for future experimental planning and discussion of pain-related behavioral changes.
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The function of the Cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) in the development of neuropathic pain is not clear. Mounting evidence suggest that CB1R expression and activation may contribute to pain. Cannabinoid 1 receptor knockout mice (CB1R-/-) generated on a C57Bl/6 background exhibit hypoalgesia in the hotplate assay and formalin test. These findings suggest that Cannabinoid 1 receptor expression mediates the responses to at least some types of painful stimuli. By using this mouse line, we sought to determine if the lack of Cannabinoid 1 receptor unveils a general hypoalgesic phenotype, including protection against the development of neuropathic pain. The acetone test was used to measure cold sensitivity, the electronic von Frey was used to measure mechanical thresholds before and after spared-nerve injury, and analysis of footprint patterns was conducted to determine if motor function is differentially affected after nerve-injury in mice with varying levels of Cannabinoid 1 receptor. ⋯ Cold allodynia and significant recovery from spared-nerve injury-induced mechanical hypersensitivity are two novel phenotypes which characterize the global CB1R-/- mice. An increase in transient receptor potential channel of melastatin 8 channel function in DRG neurons may underlie the cold phenotype. Recovery of mechanical thresholds in the CB1R knockouts was independent of motor function. These results indicate that CB1R expression contributes to the development of persistent mechanical hypersensitivity, protects against the development of robust cold allodynia but is not involved in motor impairment following spared-nerve injury in mice.