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Effects of intrathecal antibodies to substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide and galanin on repeated cold stress-induced hyperalgesia: comparison with carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia.

Rats exposed to a cold environment (4 degrees C) for 30 min every 1 h during the day and at night show a gradual decrease in the nociceptive threshold for pressure stimulation. Such hyperalgesia, referred to as repeated cold stress (RCS)-induced hyperalgesia, is stable for at least 4 h and maintained for 3 days only by exposing to cold overnight; thus, no adaptation to RCS is apparent. Hyperalgesia gradually returns over 4 days after cold exposure ceases. To determine whether three neuropeptides, substance P (SP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and galanin (GAL), which are present in the superficial dorsal horn including primary afferent terminals, would be responsible for RCS-induced hyperalgesia, we examined the effects of intrathecal injections of their antibodies (used as inhibitors of neuropeptide-mediated synaptic transmission) on the nociceptive threshold of RCS rats, and compared this with the antibody effect on carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia. An intrathecal injection of anti-SP antibody significantly inhibited the hyperalgesia of RCS rats as well as carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia, and slightly increased the nociceptive threshold of non-RCS rats. Anti-CGRP antibody produced an improvement in the hyperalgesia of RCS rats as well as carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia without having an effect on the nociceptive threshold of non-RCS rats. Although anti-GAL antibody significantly inhibited carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia, it did not affect the nociceptive threshold of RCS and non-RCS rats. The present results suggest that enhancement of synaptic transmission mediated by SP and CGRP, but not GAL, in the spinal dorsal horn is, at least in part, involved in RCS-induced hyperalgesia.

Animals

Dynamic and static components of mechanical hyperalgesia in human hairy skin.

The principle finding of the present study is that there are two types of mechanical hyperalgesia developing in human hairy skin following injurious stimuli. Mechanical hyperalgesia comprises a dynamic component (brush-evoked pain, allodynia) signalled by large myelinated afferents and a static component (hyperalgesia to pressure stimuli) signalled by unmyelinated afferents. While the static component is only found in the injured area, the dynamic component also extends into a halo of undamaged tissue surrounding the injury. The irritant chemicals, mustard oil or capsaicin, were applied transdermally in 20 subjects to a patch (2 x 2 cm) of hairy skin. Both substances evoked burning pain and hyperalgesia to mechanical stimuli. While stroking normal skin with a cotton bud was perceived only as touch prior to chemical stimulation, there was a distinctly unpleasant sensation afterwards. This component of mechanical hyperalgesia persisted for at least 30 min and was present in the skin exposed to the irritants (primary hyperalgesia) as well as in a zone of untreated skin surrounding the injury (secondary hyperalgesia) measuring 38 +/- 4 cm2 after capsaicin. Pressure pain thresholds dropped to 55 +/- 8% of baseline level after mustard oil and to 46 +/- 9% after capsaicin. However, this drop of thresholds was short-lived, lasting 5 min following mustard oil but persisting more than 30 min following capsaicin treatment. The reduction of pressure pain thresholds was only observed for treated skin areas, but not in the surrounding undamaged tissue from where brush-evoked pain could be evoked. When pressure pain thresholds were lowered, the pain had a burning quality which differed distinctly from the quality of brush-evoked pain. On-going burning pain and both types of mechanical hyperalgesia were critically temperature dependent. Mildly cooling the skin provided instant relief from on-going pain, abolished brush-evoked pain and normalized pressure pain thresholds. Rewarming resulted in a reappearance of on-going pain and hyperalgesia. The effect of a nerve compression block of the superficial radial nerve on these sensations was tested in 14 experiments. When the ability to perceive light touch had been abolished, there was also no touch-evoked pain, indicating that this component of mechanical hyperalgesia is mediated by large-diameter primary afferents. At a later stage of the block when the subjects' ability to perceive cold stimuli had also been lost, application of cool stimuli still eliminated on-going burning pain, suggesting that pain relief afforded by cooling the skin acts at the peripheral receptor level and not by central masking.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult

Differential roles of NMDA and non-NMDA receptor activation in induction and maintenance of thermal hyperalgesia in rats with painful peripheral mononeuropathy.

Central activation of excitatory amino acid receptors has been implicated in neuropathic pain following nerve injury. In a rat model of painful peripheral mononeuropathy, we compared the effects of non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonists (MK 801 and HA966) and a non-NMDA receptor antagonist (CNQX) on induction and maintenance of thermal hyperalgesia induced by chronic constrictive injury (CCI) of the rat common sciatic nerve. Thermal hyperalgesia to radiant heat was assessed by using a foot-withdrawal test and NMDA/non-NMDA receptor antagonists were administered intrathecally onto the lumbar spinal cord before and after nerve injury. Four daily single treatments with 20 nmol HA966 or CNQX beginning 15 min prior to nerve ligation (pre-injury treatment), reliably reduced thermal hyperalgesia in CCI rats on days 3, 5, 7 and 10 after nerve ligation. Thermal hyperalgesia was also reduced in CCI rats receiving a single post-injury treatment with HA966 (20 or 80 nmol) or MK 801 (5 or 20 nmol) on day 3 after nerve ligation when thermal hyperalgesia was well developed. In contrast, a single post-injury CNQX (20 or 80 nmol) treatment failed to reduce thermal hyperalgesia or to potentiate effects of HA966 or MK 801 (5 or 20 nmol) on thermal hyperalgesia in CCI rats. Moreover, multiple post-injury CNQX treatments utilizing the same dose regime as employed for the pre-injury treatment attenuated thermal hyperalgesia but only when the treatment began 1 or 24 h (but not 72 h) after nerve ligation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione

Intracerebroventricular micro-injections of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs abolish reperfusion hyperalgesia in the rat's tail.

Prostaglandins are mediators of reperfusion hyperalgesia; their site of action may be in the periphery, in the central nervous system, or both. We have investigated whether prostaglandins play a role in the central nervous system during reperfusion hyperalgesia, by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) micro-injection of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), to inhibit local prostanoid synthesis. We induced tail ischaemia in conscious rats by applying an inflatable cuff at the base of the tail. The cuff was released at the first signs of co-ordinated escape behaviour. Responses to a noxious thermal stimulus were assessed, by measuring tail flick latency following immersion of the tail in water at 49 degrees C, prior to and immediately after release of the tourniquet. Tail flick latency decreased significantly following ischaemia, that is there was post-ischaemic reperfusion hyperalgesia. Intracerebroventricular micro-injection of NSAID prior to applying the tourniquet had no effect on the co-ordinated escape behaviour during ischaemia or on the tail flick latency after application of a sham tourniquet (uninflated cuff). However all the drugs abolished the hyperalgesia evident during reperfusion. Doses required to abolish hyperalgesia were 0.001 mg/kg indomethacin, 0.08 mg/kg dipyrone, 0.09 mg/kg ibuprofen, 0.2 mg/kg diclofenac sodium and 0.2 mg/kg paracetamol. These doses are 2-3 orders of magnitude less than those necessary to abolish reperfusion hyperalgesia when the same drugs are administered systemically. Our results indicate that the development of reperfusion hyperalgesia of the rat's tail depends on the synthesis of prostanoids within the central nervous system.

Animals

Mediation of serotonin hyperalgesia by the cAMP second messenger system.

In this study we have evaluated the second messenger system that might couple 5-HT1A receptor activation to produce peripheral hyperalgesia. The intradermal injection of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) receptor agonist for the 1A receptor subset (5-HT1A), (+/-)-2-dipropylamino-8-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthaline hydrobromide (8-OH DPAT) produces a dose-dependent hyperalgesia which was attenuated by a cAMP kinase inhibitor (the R-isomer of cyclic adenosine-3'-5'-monophosphate), but prolonged by the inhibition of endogenous phosphodiesterase by rolipram, supporting a role for the cAMP second messenger system. The 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT, and the adenyl cyclase activator, forskolin administered together, produced an additive hyperalgesia, suggesting that the 5-HT1A receptor in peripheral terminals of the primary afferent neurons is positively coupled to the cAMP second messenger system in producing hyperalgesia. The inability of pertussis toxin to inhibit 8-OH DPAT-induced hyperalgesia further supports this hypothesis. The coupling of the 5-HT1A receptor to the cAMP second messenger system appears to be through guanine regulatory proteins since guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) and cholera toxin both markedly enhanced 8-OH DPAT hyperalgesia. In further support of the role of guanine nucleotide regulatory proteins, guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate), as well as activators of inhibitory guanine regulatory proteins (the mu-opioid agonist, [D-Ala2,N-Me-Phe4,Gly5-ol]-enkephalin, and the adenosine A1 agonist, N6-cyclopentyladenosine, significantly attenuated 8-OH DPAT hyperalgesia.

3,4-Dichloro-N-methyl-N-(2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cycloh

Sympathectomy does not abolish bradykinin-induced cutaneous hyperalgesia in man.

Bradykinin is an endogenous peptide that is thought to be a chemical mediator of the hyperalgesia following inflammation. In rat, bradykinin has been postulated to cause hyperalgesia to mechanical stimuli by releasing prostaglandin from sympathetic post-ganglionic terminals. The aim of this study was to determine whether bradykinin-induced cutaneous hyperalgesia in humans requires post-ganglionic sympathetic terminals. In humans, intradermal injection of bradykinin produces dramatic hyperalgesia to heat but not mechanical stimuli. Therefore, we measured the magnitude and duration of pain and hyperalgesia to heat stimuli following intradermal injection of bradykinin into the leg of a woman before and 6 months after an ipsilateral, surgical, lumbar sympathectomy. The pain and hyperalgesia to heat following bradykinin was found to be unaffected by the sympathectomy. These results suggest that the algesic effects of cutaneous bradykinin in human are independent of the sympathetic nervous system.

Adolescent

Role of kinins in pain and hyperalgesia: psychophysical studies in a patient with kininogen deficiency.

1. Bradykinin is considered to be an important mediator of pain and hyperalgesia associated with injury and inflammation. Psychophysical studies were conducted in a patient with complete kininogen deficiency to determine whether the absence of bradykinin was associated with abnormalities in pain sensibility. Pain evoked by heat stimuli to the thenar eminence was tested before and after a localized burn, which has been shown to cause hyperalgesia in normal subjects. In addition, pain evoked by intradermal administration of bradykinin (0.1-10 micrograms) to the forearm and the effects of bradykinin on pain induced by heat stimuli were studied. The patient rated the intensity of pain evoked by all heat stimuli relative to the pain induced by a 3 s 45 degrees C stimulus. 2. The patient's heat pain threshold (45 degrees C) in the glabrous skin was similar to that of age-matched control subjects (n = 5) and to that previously observed in younger control subjects. 3. The burn resulted in a decrease in pain threshold and an increase in pain induced by suprathreshold stimuli. The magnitude of hyperalgesia was within the range observed in the age-matched control subjects and in younger control subjects. Thus, kinins are not essential for the development of hyperalgesia after heat injury. 4. In control subjects, intradermal injections of bradykinin produced pain and hyperalgesia to heat stimuli. In the patient, intradermal bradykinin injections induced minimal pain and no hyperalgesia to heat stimuli. Thus, congenital absence of kininogens may be associated with a deficiency in bradykinin receptors.

Aged

The effects of a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801, on behavioral hyperalgesia and dorsal horn neuronal activity in rats with unilateral inflammation.

The involvement of NMDA receptors in rats with peripheral inflammation and hyperalgesia was evaluated by administration of the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801. Inflammation and hyperalgesia was induced by intradermal injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) or carrageenan into the left hind paw. The latency of paw withdrawal from a thermal stimulus was used as a measure of hyperalgesia in awake rats. MK-801 (1.6 mg/kg, i.p., or 31.5 micrograms, intrathecal) significantly attenuated thermal hyperalgesia and reduced its duration in comparison to saline-injected rats (P less than 0.05). The receptive field size of nociceptive-specific and wide-dynamic-range neurons in the superficial and deep spinal dorsal horn recorded 24 h after injection of CFA was significantly reduced to 73 +/- 6% (P less than 0.05, n = 8) and 74 +/- 4% (P less than 0.05, n = 8) of control values, respectively, by a cumulative dose of 3 mg/kg of MK-801 (i.v.). MK-801 (2 mg/kg) prevented the expansion of the receptive fields of dorsal horn neurons recorded 5 +/- 0.4 h (n = 5) after intradermal injection of CFA as compared to saline-injected rats (P less than 0.05). MK-801 had no significant effect on receptive field size of dorsal horn neurons in rats without CFA-induced inflammation but blocked a transient expansion of the receptive fields induced by 1 Hz, C-fiber intensity electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve. The background activity and noxious heat-evoked response of dorsal horn neurons in rats with CFA-induced inflammation were primarily inhibited and noxious pinch-evoked activity was both facilitated and inhibited by the administration of MK-801. These results support the hypothesis that NMDA receptors are involved in the dorsal horn neuronal plasticity and behavioral hyperalgesia that follows peripheral tissue inflammation.

Animals

Nitric oxide mediates the thermal hyperalgesia produced in a model of neuropathic pain in the rat.

Recent evidence has shown that activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor mediates the thermal hyperalgesia produced in a model of neuropathic pain. As the acute nociceptive effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate have been reported to be mediated through production of nitric oxide and activation of soluble guanylate cyclase, these experiments were designed to determine whether the thermal hyperalgesia produced in a rat model of neuropathic pain is also mediated through the production of nitric oxide and activation of soluble guanylate cyclase. Loose ligation of the sciatic nerve with chromic gut sutures, but not bilateral sham rats, demonstrated evidence of a marked thermal hyperalgesia on day 3 post-surgery. In bilateral sham rats, intrathecal administration of either an alternate substrate for nitric oxide synthase, NW-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, or the soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor, Methylene Blue, did not produce any change in thermal nociceptive withdrawal latencies. These same treatments blocked the thermal hyperalgesia in rats with chromic gut ligatures for a period of 2 and 4 h, respectively. These results suggest that a sustained production of nitric oxide and subsequent activation of soluble guanylate cyclase in the lumbar spinal cord mediate the thermal hyperalgesia produced in a model of neuropathic pain in the rat.

Analysis of Variance

Neonatal capsaicin treatment prevents the development of the thermal hyperalgesia produced in a model of neuropathic pain in the rat.

Loose ligation of the sciatic nerve with 4-0 chromic gut sutures in rats produces behavioral evidence of neuropathic pain. In the present experiments we examined the involvement of capsaicin-sensitive afferents in mediating the thermal hyperalgesia produced by this model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats, treated as neonates (within 48 h of birth) with capsaicin (50 mg/kg, s.c.) or vehicle, were used at 16-18 weeks of age. Chromic gut sutures (4-0) were tied around the left sciatic nerve and withdrawal latencies of both hind paws to radiant heat were determined on postoperative days 3, 5, 10 and 20. Whereas there was a pronounced thermal hyperalgesia which lasted for up to 20 days in vehicle-treated rats, there was no evidence of thermal hyperalgesia in capsaicin-treated rats. There was no difference in baseline (pre-surgery) withdrawal latencies between the two groups. Radioimmunoassay revealed that there was a significant depletion of substance P (43.8%) and calcitonin-gene-related peptide (72.6%) in the lumbar spinal cord of neonatal capsaicin-treated rats compared to vehicle-treated rats. These results demonstrate that the chromic gut-induced thermal hyperalgesia is mediated by capsaicin-sensitive afferents and suggest that central mechanisms which process and control the reflex response to heat are different than mechanisms involved in thermal hyperalgesia.

Animals

Involvement of nitric oxide in spinally mediated hyperalgesia in the mouse.

Intrathecal injection of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) induces a short duration hyperalgesia in mice. An inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), administered either systemically or intrathecally, blocked the NMDA-induced hyperalgesia. This effect was partially reversed by the NOS substrate, L-arginine. Intrathecal hemoglobin mimicked the effects of L-NAME. Intrathecal injection of the NO-donating compounds, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and hydroxylamine, resulted in a hyperalgesia that lasted 3 h and was reduced by coadministration of hemoglobin. Thus, nitric oxide production appears to mediate NMDA-induced hypersensitivity and may contribute to other forms of centrally induced hyperalgesia.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases

L-dopa induces opposing effects on pain in intact rats: (-)-sulpiride, SCH 23390 or alpha-methyl-DL-p-tyrosine methylester hydrochloride reveals profound hyperalgesia in large antinociceptive doses.

The present study shows that during the time course of the action of single doses, L-dopa induces multiphasic opposing effects on pain, recorded as vocalization during the presentation of electrical stimulation applied to the tail of normal rats. This indicates that two or more functional systems contribute to produce the net response. A small dose (15 mg/kg) of L-dopa facilitates pain slightly, whereas larger doses (100-200 mg/kg) can produce an antinociceptive effect following an initial hyperalgesia. Moreover, profound hyperalgesia is revealed by either dopamine (DA) D1 and D2 receptor blockade by means of SCH 23390 [R-(+)-7-chloro-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetra-hydro-1H- 3-benzazepine hydrochloride] or (-)-sulpiride, respectively, as well as after a reduction of the presynaptic synthesis of catecholamines after pretreatment of the animals with the tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor alpha-methyl-DL-p-tyrosine (alpha-MPT). The enhancement of L-dopa's hyperalgesic effect after SCH 23390 treatment is maximal already at the onset of the effects, whereas (-)-sulpiride or alpha-methyl-DL-p-tyrosine precipitates the hyperalgesia after a certain temporal delay during defined phases of the time course of the effects of large L-dopa doses. The D1 receptor agonist (+)-SKF 38393 potentiates both the hyperalgesic and antinociceptive effects of 100 mg/kg of L-dopa. It is suggested that L-dopa's net effect on pain is modulated from concentration-dependent, opposing effector systems involving both DA stimulatory and inhibitory receptor mechanisms. At high dosing, activation of D2 receptors enhancing DA functional activity produces an antinociceptive response that normally outweighs the hyperalgesia, but this effect becomes dissociable with inhibition of central DA activity.

Analgesics

The intrathecal administration of excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists selectively attenuated carrageenan-induced behavioral hyperalgesia in rats.

A single unilateral injection of carrageenan (4.5-6.0 mg in 0.15-0.20 ml saline) into the rat hindpaw induced behavioral hyperalgesia as evidenced by a significant reduction in hindpaw withdrawal latency to a noxious thermal stimulus. The involvement of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in this model of hyperalgesia was examined by intrathecal administration of the selective excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor antagonists: (+/-)-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP-5), (+/-)-3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP), ketamine hydrochloride (ketamine), 7-chlorokynurenic acid (7-Cl kynurenic acid), and 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX). The effects of dizocilpine maleate (MK-801) were studied under the same conditions and published previously (Ren et al., 1992) and the data are presented for comparison. While the withdrawal latencies of the non-injected paws and of the paws of naive rats were not significantly affected by application of the EAA receptor antagonists at doses tested, the paw withdrawal latencies of the carrageenan-injected paws were elevated dose dependently. The rank order of potency of these agents to reduce hyperalgesia was: MK-801 greater than or equal to AP-5 greater than or equal to CPP = 7-Cl kynurenic acid = ketamine much greater than CNQX greater than 0. In contrast, intrathecal injection of the opioid receptor agonists, [D-Ala2,MePhe4,Gly-ol5]enkephalin (DAMGO, mu-selective) and [D-Pen2,D-Pen5] enkephalin (DPDPE, delta-selective), produced antinociception in both injected and non-injected paws. DAMGO was much more potent, while DPDPE was less potent, than MK-801.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione

The pivotal role of tumour necrosis factor alpha in the development of inflammatory hyperalgesia.

1. The hyperalgesic activities in rats of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), IL-6, IL-8, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and carrageenin were investigated. 2. IL-6 activated the previously delineated IL-1/prostaglandin hyperalgesic pathway but not the IL-8/sympathetic mediated hyperalgesic pathway. 3. TNF alpha and carrageenin activated both pathways. 4. Antiserum neutralizing endogenous TNF alpha abolished the response to carrageenin whereas antisera neutralizing endogenous IL-1 beta, IL-6 and IL-8 each partially inhibited the response. 5. The combination of antisera neutralizing endogenous IL-1 beta + IL-8 or IL-6 + IL-8 abolished the response to carrageenin. 6. These results show that TNF alpha has an early and crucial role in the development of inflammatory hyperalgesia. 7. The delineation of the role of TNF alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6 and IL-8 in the development of inflammatory hyperalgesia taken together with the finding that the production of these cytokines is inhibited by steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs provides a mechanism of action for these drugs in the treatment of inflammatory hyperalgesia.

Animals

Irritable bowel syndrome: a test of the colonic hyperalgesia hypothesis.

This study tested the hypothesis that, patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), there is a primary hyperalgesia of the colon. Previous work, which examined these patients and normals, has not included subjects who provide a control for relevant psychological characteristics. We compared ratings of pain, following varying degrees of distension of the sigmoid colon, in normals, patients with IBS, and patients who were psychologically disturbed but without bowel symptoms. Psychological characteristics were assessed by a psychiatric interview and psychometric inventories; response to distension was tested by placing a tube in the rectosigmoid colon and successively inflating a nd deflating a balloon at its tip at 10 cm3 increments up to 50 cm3. Ratings of pain were recorded at each volume. The results indicated that the two patient groups were psychologically similar and both were more disturbed than normals. A linear relation was found between reports of pain and volume of distension in all three groups. There were no significant differences between the proportions of subjects experiencing pain in each group or the average of the ratings. There were no significant associations between the pain ratings and measures of anxiety, depression, neuroticism, and extraversion. The data do not support the hypothesis that colonic hyperalgesia is an important contributory factor in the etiology of the irritable bowel syndrome.

Adolescent

Antinociceptive effect of L-arginine on the carrageenin-induced hyperalgesia of the rat: possible involvement of central opioidergic systems.

L-arginine is considered to be a precursor substance of kyotorphin (tyrosyl-arginine), a [Met5]enkephalin releaser with antinociceptive action. We examined the antinociceptive effect of L-arginine in rats. L-Arginine (300-1000 mg/kg) administered subcutaneously (s.c.) elicited antinociception (assessed by the Randall-Selitto method) in rats with a carrageenin-treated hindpaw. Naloxone (2 mg/kg s.c.) but not N-methyl-levallorphan (20 mg/kg s.c.), a peripherally selective opioid antagonist, inhibited L-arginine-induced antinociception. Intracerebroventricular administration of L-arginine (0.2-1.0 mg/rat) produced a dose-related inhibition of the carrageenin-induced hyperalgesia. Intraplantar (i.pl.) injection of L-arginine (0.5-1.0 mg/paw) also induced antinociception, which was resistant to naloxone (2 mg/kg s.c.) but was antagonized by methylene blue (0.5 mg/paw i.pl.), a guanylate cyclase inhibitor. L-Arginine (1000 mg/kg s.c.) did not inhibit edema formation in the carrageenin-treated rat hindpaw. These results suggest that systemically administered L-arginine produces mainly an antinociceptive effect mediated by central opioidergic mechanisms in rats with carrageenin-induced hyperalgesia.

Analgesics

I - Prostaglandin hyperalgesia, a cAMP/Ca2+ dependent process.

Prostaglandins stimulate cAMP increase in several biological systems including CNS. The possible participation of a cAMP/Ca2+ related mechanism in prostaglandin induced hyperalgesia in the rat paw, as measured by a modification of the Randall-Selitto method was investigated. A serie of agents was administered in the paw in an attempt to change either Ca2+ or cyclic AMP concentration at the nociceptive terminations. PGE2, dibutyryl cyclic AMP, isoprenaline, noradrenaline, adrenaline, Ca2+ionophore (A23187), BaCl2 caused a dose dependent hyperalgesia. The hyperalgesic effect of these substances was enhanced by methyl-xanthines. Cyclic GMP as well as agents which interfere with Ca2+ influx (verapamil and lanthanum) were local analgesics in normal and hyperalgesic paws.

Analgesics

Intra-locus coeruleus LPS administration induces anxiety-like behavior, thermal hyperalgesia, and striatal lysosomal alterations: Relevance to Parkinson's disease.

According to Braak's staging hypothesis, Parkinson's disease (PD) pathology may originate in extranigral regions, including the locus coeruleus (LC). In parallel, PD has been associated with lysosomal dysfunction. Here, we investigated whether intra-LC lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection may produce behavioral alterations and lysosomal protein changes in the striatum and prefrontal cortex (PFC), regions critically implicated in PD pathology. Adult male Wistar rats received unilateral injections of saline or LPS (10 µg/2 µL) into the LC or striatum and were assessed for anxiety-like behavior, thermal hyperalgesia, and motor coordination. A separate cohort was sacrificed 15 days post-injection to assess lysosomal proteins (cathepsin D, β-glucocerebrosidase, Lysosomal Associated Membrane Protein 2 (LAMP2)) and α-synuclein (α-Syn). Intra-LC LPS induced anxiety-like behavior, reflected by reduced time spent in the center of the open field, and thermal hyperalgesia, as shown by shortened tail-flick latency, whereas intra-striatal LPS impaired locomotion and motor coordination, evidenced by reduced line crossings and decreased rotarod performance. Intra-LC but not intra-striatal LPS reduced LAMP2 levels in the striatum, while all other markers remained unchanged in both regions. These findings provide experimental support for Braak's hypothesis.

Animals