title: Distinct contributions of reactive oxygen species in amygdala to bee venom-induced spontaneous pain-related behaviors.
abstract: Reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, play essential roles in physiological plasticity and are also involved in the pathogenesis of persistent pain. Roles of peripheral and spinal ROS in pain have been well established, but much less is known about ROS in the amygdala, a brain region that plays an important role in pain modulation. The present study explored the contribution of ROS in the amygdala to bee venom (BV)-induced pain behaviors. Our data show that the amygdala is activated following subcutaneous BV injection into the left hindpaw, which is reflected in the increased number of c-Fos positive cells in the central and basolateral amygdala nuclei in the right hemisphere. Stereotaxic administration of a ROS scavenger (tempol, 10mM), NADPH oxidase inhibitor (baicalein, 5mM) or lipoxygenase inhibitor (apocynin, 10mM) into the right amygdala attenuated the BV-induced spontaneous licking and lifting behaviors, but had no effect on BV-induced paw flinch reflexes. Our study provides further evidence for the involvement of the amygdala in nociceptive processing and pain behaviors, and that ROS in amygdala may be a potential target for treatment strategies to inhibit pain.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain and Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an 710038, PR China.
authors.forename: Yun-Fei
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), Lubbock, TX, USA. Electronic address: volker.neugebauer@ttuhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Neugebauer
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain and Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an 710038, PR China; Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing 100069, PR China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain and Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an 710038, PR China. Electronic address: lizhen75227@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000098:Acetophenones / Q000494:pharmacology; D000679:Amygdala / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001514:Bee Venoms; D003497:Cyclic N-Oxides / Q000494:pharmacology; D044950:Flavanones / Q000494:pharmacology; D016859:Lipoxygenase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009249:NADP / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D010146:Pain / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D013113:Spin Labels
chemical_list: D000098:Acetophenones; D001514:Bee Venoms; D003497:Cyclic N-Oxides; D044950:Flavanones; D016859:Lipoxygenase Inhibitors; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013113:Spin Labels; C006680:baicalein; D009249:NADP; C056165:acetovanillone; C001803:tempol
keywords: Amygdala; Bee venom; Pain; Reactive oxygen species