title: Galanin and its receptor system promote the repair of injured sciatic nerves in diabetic rats.
abstract: Various studies have reported that galanin can promote axonal regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neuronsin vitroand inhibit neuropathic pain. However, little is known about its effects on diabetic peripheral neuropathy, andin vivoexperimental data are lacking. We hypothesized that repeated applications of exogenous galanin over an extended time frame may also repair nerve damage in diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and relieve painin vivo. We found that neuropathic pain occurred in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and was more severe after sciatic nerve pinch injury at 14 and 28 days than in diabetic sham-operated rats. Treatment with exogenous galanin alleviated the neuropathic pain and promoted sciatic nerve regeneration more effectively in diabetic rats than in non-diabetic rats after sciatic nerve pinch injury. This was accompanied by changes in the levels of endogenous galanin, and its receptors galanin receptor 1 and galanin receptor 2 in the dorsal root ganglia and the spinal dorsal horn when compared with nerve pinch normal rats. Our results show that application of exogenous galanin daily for 28 days can promote the regeneration of injured sciatic nerves, and alleviate neuropathic pain in diabetic rats.
authors.affiliation: The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Feng
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8413-3278
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Dan-Dan
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Chi
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qiu
keywords: diabetes; dorsal root ganglion; galanin; galanin receptor 1; galanin receptor 2; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neuropathic pain; peripheral nerve injury; sciatic nerve; spinal dorsal horn