title: The antinociceptive effects of ferulic acid on neuropathic pain: involvement of descending monoaminergic system and opioid receptors.
abstract: Neuropathic pain can be considered as a form of chronic stress that may share common neuropathological mechanism between pain and stress-related depression and respond to similar treatment. Ferulic acid (FA) is a major active component of angelica sinensis and has been reported to exert antidepressant-like effects; however, it remains unknown whether FA ameliorate chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain and the involvement of descending monoaminergic system and opioid receptors. Chronic treatment with FA (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) ameliorated mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in von Frey hair and hot plate tasks, accompanied by increasing spinal noradrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) levels. Subsequent study suggested that treatment of CCI animals with 40 and 80 mg/kg FA also inhibited spinal MAO-A levels. FA's effects on mechanical allodynia or thermal hyperalgesiawas blocked by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) or p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) via pharmacological depletion of spinal noradrenaline or serotonin. Moreover, the anti-allodynic action of FA on mechanical stimuli was prevented by pre-treatment with beta2-adrenoceptor antagonist ICI 118,551, or by the delta-opioid receptor antagonist naltrindole. While the anti-hyperalgesia on thermal stimuli induced by FA was blocked by pre-treatment with 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635, or with the irreversible mu-opioid receptor antagonist beta-funaltrexamine. These results suggest that the effect of FA on neuropathic pain is potentially mediated via amelioration of the descending monoaminergic system that coupled with spinal beta2- and 5-HT1A receptors and the downstream delta- and mu-opioid receptors differentially.
authors.affiliation: Brain Institute, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325021, China.|Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Brain Institute, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325021, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Brain Institute, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325021, China.
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Brain Institute, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325021, China.
authors.forename: Xupei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Engineering and Life Sciences, Changzhou University, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, 213000, China.
authors.forename: Liqun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Brain Institute, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325021, China.
authors.forename: Lejing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.affiliation: Brain Institute, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325021, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fei
authors.affiliation: Brain Institute, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325021, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Brain Institute, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325021, China.
authors.forename: Naping
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310006, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Engineering and Life Sciences, Changzhou University, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, 213000, China.
authors.forename: Xianfeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Brain Institute, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325021, China.
authors.forename: Jianchun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D044282:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A / Q000378:metabolism*; D018343:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D011957:Receptors, Opioid / Q000378:metabolism*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D003373:Coumaric Acids; D018343:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2; D011957:Receptors, Opioid; D044282:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A; D012701:Serotonin; C004999:ferulic acid; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase
keywords: analgesic effect; ferulic acid; monoamine; neuropathic pain; opioid receptor