Abstract
Partial nerve injury often leads to peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP), a major health problem that lacks effective drug treatment. PNP is characterized by ongoing/spontaneous pain, and hypersensitivity to noxious (hyperalgesia) and innocuous (allodynia) stimuli. Preclinical studies using the L5 spinal nerve ligation/axotomy (SNL/SNA) model of PNP suggest that this type of chronic pain results partly from sensitization of ipsilateral L4C-and Aδ-fiber nociceptive dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, but whether L4 β-nociceptors, which constitute a substantial group of DRG neurons, also become sensitized remains unanswered. To address this issue, intracellular recordings from somata of cutaneous Aβ-nociceptors (classified according to their dorsal root conduction velocities (>6.5m/s), and physiologically based on their responses to noxious (but not innocuous) mechanical stimuli) were made from L4-DRGs in normal (control) rats and in rats seven days after L5 SNA in vivo. Compared with control, cutaneous L4 Aβ-nociceptive DRG neurons in SNA rats (that developed mechanical hypersensitivity) exhibited sensitization indicated by: a) decreased mean mechanical threshold (from 57.8±7.1 to 10.3±1.7mN), b) decreased mean dorsal root electrical threshold (from 11.4±0.7 to 4.3±0.4V), c) increased mean response to a suprathreshold mechanical stimulus (from 18.5±1.8 to 34±3.7spikes/sec) and d) an obvious, but non-significant, increase in the incidence of ongoing/spontaneous activity (from 3% to 18%). These findings suggest that cutaneous L4 Aβ-nociceptors also become sensitized after L5 SNA, and that sensitization of this subclass of A-fiber nociceptors may contribute both directly and indirectly to nerve injury-induced PNP.
TY - JOUR
T1 - L5 spinal nerve axotomy induces sensitization of cutaneous L4 Aβ-nociceptive dorsal root ganglion neurons in the rat in vivo.
A1 - Djouhri,Laiche,
Y1 - 2016/05/09/
PY - 2016/04/19/received
PY - 2016/05/06/revised
PY - 2016/05/07/accepted
PY - 2016/5/14/entrez
PY - 2016/5/14/pubmed
PY - 2017/6/7/medline
KW - Myelinated nerve fibers
KW - Neuropathic pai
KW - Nociceptors
KW - Primary sensory neurons
KW - Uninjured neurons
SP - 72
EP - 7
JF - Neuroscience letters
JO - Neurosci Lett
VL - 624
N2 - Partial nerve injury often leads to peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP), a major health problem that lacks effective drug treatment. PNP is characterized by ongoing/spontaneous pain, and hypersensitivity to noxious (hyperalgesia) and innocuous (allodynia) stimuli. Preclinical studies using the L5 spinal nerve ligation/axotomy (SNL/SNA) model of PNP suggest that this type of chronic pain results partly from sensitization of ipsilateral L4C-and Aδ-fiber nociceptive dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, but whether L4 β-nociceptors, which constitute a substantial group of DRG neurons, also become sensitized remains unanswered. To address this issue, intracellular recordings from somata of cutaneous Aβ-nociceptors (classified according to their dorsal root conduction velocities (>6.5m/s), and physiologically based on their responses to noxious (but not innocuous) mechanical stimuli) were made from L4-DRGs in normal (control) rats and in rats seven days after L5 SNA in vivo. Compared with control, cutaneous L4 Aβ-nociceptive DRG neurons in SNA rats (that developed mechanical hypersensitivity) exhibited sensitization indicated by: a) decreased mean mechanical threshold (from 57.8±7.1 to 10.3±1.7mN), b) decreased mean dorsal root electrical threshold (from 11.4±0.7 to 4.3±0.4V), c) increased mean response to a suprathreshold mechanical stimulus (from 18.5±1.8 to 34±3.7spikes/sec) and d) an obvious, but non-significant, increase in the incidence of ongoing/spontaneous activity (from 3% to 18%). These findings suggest that cutaneous L4 Aβ-nociceptors also become sensitized after L5 SNA, and that sensitization of this subclass of A-fiber nociceptors may contribute both directly and indirectly to nerve injury-induced PNP.
SN - 1872-7972
UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/27173166/L5_spinal_nerve_axotomy_induces_sensitization_of_cutaneous_L4_Aβ_nociceptive_dorsal_root_ganglion_neurons_in_the_rat_in_vivo_
L2 - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0304-3940(16)30307-X
DB - PRIME
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
