title: Sialic acid contributes to generation of ectopic spontaneous discharges in rats with neuropathic pain.
abstract: Ectopic spontaneous discharges (ESD) of teased myelinated fibers were recorded from the sciatic nerve proximal to the site of 'chronic constriction nerve injury' in the rat. Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Mn(2+), Ni(2+), La(3+) and some positively charged organic compounds (hexamethonium and poly-lysine) when applied topically to the injured site abolished or significantly reduced the rate of ESD. After enzymatic removal of sialic acid by neuraminidase (2 units/ml), the ESD was silenced in 11, reduced in four and unchanged in four of 19 fibers. However, divalent cations failed to depress the reappeared ESD evoked by 4-aminopyridine in the desialylated silenced fibers. Moreover, the mean incidence of ESD was significantly reduced after neuraminidase treatment. These results indicate that an increase in negative charges on the external membrane surface of injured neuron caused by sialylation is a key factor in ESD generation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, 5 Dong Dan San Tiao, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Xiu-Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiao-Qing
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Yan-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.forename: Wen-Rui
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Yi-Kuan
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020426:Sciatic Neuropathy / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid