title: Pregabalin alleviates the nitroglycerin-induced hyperalgesia in rats.
abstract: The association between the clinical use of nitroglycerin (NTG) and migraine suggests NTG as an animal model trigger for migraine. NTG-induced hyperalgesia in rats has been extensively used as a migraine model for pre-clinical research. Pregabalin is an anti-epileptic drug and may play a role in the preventive treatment of migraine; however, the mechanism of this action remains to be clarified. Herein, we performed the present study to investigate the effect of pregabalin on the NTG-induced hyperalgesia in rats. Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided equally into six groups. Thirty minutes before NTG injection, the rats were pretreated with pregabalin. von Frey hair testing was employed to evaluate tactile sensitivity. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to analyze plasma calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) levels in the jugular vein. Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect c-Fos-immunoreactive neurons and western blot was performed to detect c-Fos protein expression in trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC). We found that pregabalin pretreatment alleviated the NTG-induced hyperalgesia. Moreover, pregabalin suppressed peripheral CGRP release, c-Fos-immunoreactive neurons and the protein expression of c-Fos in TNC as well. These data suggest that pregabalin could alleviate the NTG-induced hyperalgesia. Further studies are required to determine the mechanisms of action for this effect.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; Department of Neurology, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an 710068, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Di
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Z-Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Z-J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: W-W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: X-L
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Liuzhou Municipal Liutie Central Hospital, Liuzhou 545007, China.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: J-W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: M-H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. Electronic address: peaksnowing@126.com.
authors.forename: A-W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. Electronic address: fyn2012@126.com.
authors.forename: Y-N
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000097:blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D005996:Nitroglycerin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D000069583:Pregabalin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D000069583:Pregabalin; D005996:Nitroglycerin; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide
keywords: c-Fos; calcitonin gene-related peptide; hyperalgesia; migraine; pregabalin; trigeminovascular system