Physiological contributions of neurokinin 1 receptor activation, and interactions with NMDA receptors, to inflammatory-evoked spinal c-Fos expression.
1. Intraplantar injection of formalin (5%, 100 microliters in saline) was associated with a high level of spinal c-Fos immunoreactivity and a peripheral paw and ankle edema, as assessed at 3 h after formalin administration. For the two experimental series, the control number of formalin-evoked Fos-like immunoreactive (Fos-LI) neurons were 174 +/- 6 and 193 +/- 18 (means +/- SE) Fos-LI neurons per 40-microns section of the lumbar segment L4-L5 of the rat spinal cord. For both series of experiments, Fos-LI neurons were located predominantly in the superficial (I-II; 40 and 44% of the total number of Fos-LI neurons for the two experimental series) and deep (V-VI; 37 and 40% of the total number of Fos-LI neurons for the two experimental series) laminae of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. The small number of remaining Fos-LI neurons were located in the nucleus proprius (laminae III-IV) and the ventral horn. 2. Prior intravenous administration of RP67580 (0.05, 0.5, and 1.5 mg/kg), a selective neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor antagonist, dose-relatedly reduced the total number of formalin evoked Fos-LI neurons (88 +/- 5%, 80 +/- 4%, P < 0.01 and 64 +/- 4%, P < 0.0001, of the control number of formalin-evoked Fos-LI neurons). Laminar analysis of the regional effect of RP67580 on formalin-evoked Fos-LI neurons illustrated that the number of superficial and deep laminae Fos-LI neurons were attenuated to a similar extent by RP67580. 3. Prior intravenous administration of RP68651 (1.5 mg/kg), the inactive isomer of RP67580, produced only a small reduction in the total number of formalin-evoked Fos-LI neurons (84 +/- 5% of the control number of formalin-evoked Fos-LI neurons (P < 0.05). The effect of RP68651 on the number of formalin-evoked Fos-LI neurons was significantly smaller (P < 0.01) than the effect of the equivalent concentration of RP67580, the active isomer. 4. Prior coadministration of intravenous RP67580 (0.5 mg/kg) and subcutaneous (+)-HA966 (2.5 mg/kg), an antagonist at the glycine site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, significantly reduced the number of formalin-evoked Fos-LI neurons (64 +/- 4% of the control number of formalin-evoked Fos-LI neurons, P < 0.01). The attenuating effect of coadministered RP67580 and (+)-HA966 was significantly greater than the effect of RP67580 alone (P < 0.01) and the effect of (+)-HA966 alone (P < 0.05). Laminar analysis illustrated that coadministered RP67580 and (+)-HA966 reduced the number of formalin-evoked Fos-LI neurons in the superficial and deep laminae to a similar extent. 5. Intraplantar injection of formalin was associated with a peripheral paw (0.92 +/- 0.02 cm) and ankle (0.92 +/- 0.02 cm) edema, as compared with the paw (0.46 +/- 0.02 cm) and ankle (0.67 +/- 0.14 cm) diameters of saline-stimulated rats. Neither prior administration of intravenous RP67580 (0.05, 0.5, and 1.5 mg/kg) or RP68651 (1.5 mg/kg) or prior coadministration of RP67580) (0.5 mg/kg) and (+)-HA966 (2.5 mg/kg) influenced the extent of the paw or ankle-edema at 3 h after intraplantar injection of formalin. 6. Our results illustrate that NK1-receptor activation contributes to inflammatory-evoked spinal c-Fos expression and thus supports the current contention that NK1-receptor activation, and by inference SP, plays a role in spinal nociceptive processing. The second part of our study suggests that the previously reported NK1/NMDA-receptor interactions contribute to formalin-evoked spinal c-Fos expression and consequently may contribute to the longer term spinal neuroplasticity associated with inflammatory nociceptive processing.
Instit National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U 161, Paris, France.
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Chapman
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Buritova
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Honoré
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JM
Besson
D000700:Analgesics / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004487:Edema / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000494:pharmacology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007211:Indoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D054833:Isoindoles; D008297:Male; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011760:Pyrrolidinones / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D018040:Receptors, Neurokinin-1 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
D000700:Analgesics; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D007211:Indoles; D054833:Isoindoles; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D011760:Pyrrolidinones; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D018040:Receptors, Neurokinin-1; C071693:7,7-diphenyl-2-(1-imino-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)ethyl)perhydroisoindol-4-one; D005557:Formaldehyde; C001369:1-hydroxy-3-amino-2-pyrrolidone