title: Assessment of thermal sensitivity in rats using the thermal place preference test: description and application in the study of oxaliplatin-induced acute thermal hypersensitivity and inflammatory pain models.
abstract: Thermal sensitivity is an essential characteristic of some painful states, including oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy. The thermal place preference test (TPPT) was designed to finely assess thermal sensitivity in rodents. The TPPT monitors the time spent by unrestrained rodents on a test plate at fixed temperatures (5-50°C) compared with an adjacent reference plate at a neutral temperature (25°C). Here, we report the results of a study designed (i) to validate the optimal methodological parameters for measuring thermal sensitivity in rats, (ii) to assess the thermal sensitivity of healthy rats and animal models of pain and (iii) to explore the pharmacological effects of analgesic drugs. The most reproducible conditions occurred when the TPPT was performed in the morning and in the dark for 3 min with the reference plate set to 25°C. The temperature preferences of healthy rats were more than 17°C and less than 40°C. When compared with control animals, oxaliplatin-treated rats showed thermal hypersensitivity at 12, 20 and 35°C, and carrageenan-treated rats showed thermal hypersensitivity at 15 and 45°C. Duloxetine (2.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) reversed oxaliplatin-induced cold hypersensitivity (20°C) and morphine (1 mg/kg, intravenous) reversed carrageenan-induced heat hypersensitivity (45°C). We conclude that the TPPT enables a fine-grained assessment of thermal sensitivity that is relevant to the pathophysiological exploration of animal pain models and to the pharmacological assessment of analgesic drugs.
authors: aINSERM U1107, NEURO-DOL, Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy bClermont Université, University of Auvergne cCHU Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Balayssac
authors: Bing
authors: B
authors: Ling
authors: Jérémy
authors: J
authors: Ferrier
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Pereira
authors: Alain
authors: A
authors: Eschalier
authors: Nicolas
authors: N
authors: Authier
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000494:pharmacology; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002351:Carrageenan; D003080:Cold Temperature; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D000068736:Duloxetine Hydrochloride; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D009020:Morphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds; D000077150:Oxaliplatin; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013028:Space Perception; D013696:Temperature; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds; D013876:Thiophenes; D000077150:Oxaliplatin; D009020:Morphine; D002351:Carrageenan; D000068736:Duloxetine Hydrochloride