Spinal neural cyclooxygenase-2 mediates pain caused in a rat model of lumbar disk herniation.
Application of nucleus pulposus to nerve root generates radicular pain. We demonstrated that these animals showed allodynia for 2 weeks, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) immunoreactivities were up-regulated in the spinal dorsal horn. COX-2 immunoreactivities were shown in neurons; however, they were not in astrocytes. Intrathecal administration of an antibody to COX-2 decreased allodynia. Our results suggest that COX-2 in spinal cord might be a target for treatment of patients with nerve root pain caused by lumbar disk herniation.


CONCLUSIONS
Neural COX-2 might mediate nerve root pain in the spinal cord caused by lumbar disk herniation in rats.
Ohtori
Seiji
S
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan. sohtori@faculty.chiba-u.jp
Takahashi
Kazuhisa
K
Aoki
Yasuchika
Y
Doya
Hideo
H
Ozawa
T
T
Saito
Tomoko
T
Moriya
Hideshige
H
D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000494:pharmacology; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000378:metabolism; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000378:metabolism*; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000378:metabolism*; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000201:enzymology*; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D000906:Antibodies; D007527:Isoenzymes; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases