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- Title
Bullatine A stimulates spinal microglial dynorphin A expression to produce anti-hypersensitivity in a variety of rat pain models.
- Authors
Qian Huang; Xiao-Fang Mao; Hai-Yun Wu; Teng-Fei Li; Ming-Li Sun; Hao Liu; Yong-Xiang Wang; Huang, Qian; Mao, Xiao-Fang; Wu, Hai-Yun; Li, Teng-Fei; Sun, Ming-Li; Liu, Hao; Wang, Yong-Xiang
- Abstract
<bold>Background: </bold>Aconiti brachypodi Radix (Xue-shang-yi-zhi-hao) has been prescribed to manage chronic pain, arthritis, and traumatic injuries. Bullatine A, a C20-diterpenoid alkaloid, is one of its principle effective compounds. This study aimed to investigate the anti-hypersensitivity of bullatine A in a variety of rat pain models and explore its mechanisms of action.<bold>Methods: </bold>Rat neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, diabetic neuropathic pain, and bone cancer pain models were used. Dynorphin A and pro-inflammatory cytokines were measured in the spinal cord and cultured primary microglia. Double immunofluorescence staining of dynorphin A and glial and neuronal cellular markers was also measured in the spinal cord.<bold>Results: </bold>Subcutaneous and intrathecal injection of bullatine A dose-dependently attenuated spinal nerve ligation-, complete Freud's adjuvant-, diabetes-, and bone cancer-induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia, with the efficacies of 45-70 % inhibition, and half-effective doses of 0.9-1.9 mg/kg for subcutaneous injection. However, bullatine A was not effective in blocking acute nociceptive response in the normal condition. Bullatine A specifically stimulated dynorphin A expression in microglia in the spinal cord in vivo and cultured primary microglia in vitro; the stimulatory effects were completely inhibited by the microglial inhibitor minocycline. In contrast, bullatine A did not have an inhibitory effect on peripheral nerve injury- or lipopolysaccharide-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. The spinal anti-allodynic effects of bullatine A were entirely blocked by intrathecal injection of minocycline, the specific dynorphin A antiserum, and the selective k-opioid receptor antagonist.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>We, for the first time, demonstrate that bullatine A specifically attenuates pain hypersensitivity, regardless of the pain models employed. The results also suggest that stimulation of spinal microglial dynorphin A expression mediates bullatine A anti-nociception in pain hypersensitivity conditions.
- Subjects
PHYSIOLOGICAL effects of alkaloids; ANIMAL models in research; PAIN; BIOCHEMICAL mechanism of action; DYNORPHINS; CYTOKINES; MICROGLIA; SPINAL cord; LABORATORY rats; THERAPEUTIC use of alkaloids; SUBCUTANEOUS injections; ALKALOIDS; ANALGESICS; ANIMAL experimentation; ANIMAL populations; BIOLOGICAL models; CELL culture; DOSE-effect relationship in pharmacology; GENE expression; HYDROCARBONS; HYPERALGESIA; MOLECULAR structure; NEURALGIA; OPIOID peptides; RATS; PHARMACODYNAMICS; THERAPEUTICS
- Publication
Journal of Neuroinflammation, 2016, Vol 13, p1
- ISSN
1742-2094
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1186/s12974-016-0696-2