The spinal notch signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in the development of neuropathic pain.
BACKGROUND
The Notch signaling pathway has been shown to be involved in the development of the nervous system. Recent studies showed that Notch receptors and ligands are also expressed in the nervous system of adult animals. However, whether the Notch signaling pathway has a function in adults is not fully understood. The present study is designed to investigate the function of the Notch signaling pathway in nociceptive transmission, especially during neuropathic pain in adult rats.


RESULTS
We found that the Notch intracellular domain (NICD) is expressed in the DRG (Dorsal Root Ganglia), sciatic nerve and spinal cord in normal rats, and is upregulated in the sciatic nerve and spinal cord after spared nerve injury (SNI). Moreover, we used the γ-secretase (a key enzyme of the Notch signaling pathway) inhibitor DAPT to observe the effect of the Notch signaling pathway after SNI. We found that intrathecal DAPT significantly increased paw withdrawal thermal latency and mechanical threshold. Mechanical hyperalgesia occurring after SNI could be significantly reversed by DAPT in a dose-dependent manner.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the Notch signaling pathway participates in the induction and maintenance of neuropathic pain, which indicates that the Notch pathway maybe a potential drug target for neuropathic pain treatment.
Department of Anesthesiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, People's Republic of China.
Yan-Yan
YY
Sun
Li
L
Li
Xiao-Hua
XH
Liu
Nan
N
Gu
Hai-Long
HL
Dong
Lize
L
Xiong
D000818:Animals; D003250:Constriction; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000378:metabolism*; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D013696:Temperature
D004151:Dipeptides; C419410:N-(N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)alanyl)phenylglycine tert-butyl ester; D051880:Receptors, Notch