Preclinical evidence for the antihyperalgesic activity of CDP-choline in oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to evaluate the antihyperalgesic effect of CDP-choline (cytidine-5'-diphosphate- choline; citicoline) in a rat model of neuropathic pain produced by oxaliplatin (OXA). METHODS: A single administration of OXA (6 mg/kg intraperitoneally/ ip) was used for induction of neuropathy. We assessed the antihyperalgesic effect of intracerebroventricularly (icv) administered CDP-choline (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 µmol) using the rat paw pressure test (Randall-Selitto). RESULTS: CDP-choline significantly reduced OXA-induced mechanical hyperalgesia, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The antihyperalgesic effect of CDP-choline was blocked by the neuronal high affinity choline uptake inhibitor hemicholinium-3 (1 µg; icv), the nonselective nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine (50 µg; icv), the α7 selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist α-bungarotoxin (2 µg; icv), and the gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA)-B receptor antagonist CGP-35348 (20 µg; icv), but not by the nonselective opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (10 µg; icv) and the nonselective muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine (10 µg; icv). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that CDP-choline exerts an antihyperalgesic effect in OXA-induced neuropatic pain and it can be tested in clinical trials.

Allosteric modulation of α4ß2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: Desformylflustrabromine potentiates antiallodynic response of nicotine in a mouse model of neuropathic pain.

BACKGROUND: Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are ligand-gated ion channels. The α4ß2 subtype of nAChRs plays an important role in the mediation of pain and several nicotine-evoked responses. Agonists and partial agonists of α4ß2 nAChRs show efficacy in animal pain models. In addition, the antinociceptive properties of nicotine, a non-selective nAChR agonist with a high affinity for α4ß2 nAChRs, is well-known. There is a growing body of evidence pointing to allosteric modulation of nAChRs as an alternative treatment strategy in experimental pain. Desformylflustrabromine (dFBr) is a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) at α4ß2 nAChRs that enhances agonist responses without activating receptors. We hypothesized that dFBr may enhance nicotine-induced antinociception. METHODS: The present study investigated whether dFBr could attenuate mouse chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain by increasing endogenous cholinergic tone or potentiating the nicotine-evoked antiallodynic response. RESULTS: We found that subcutaneous administration of dFBr failed to reduce pain behaviour on its own. However, the combination of dFBr with nicotine significantly reversed neuropathic pain behaviour dose- and time-dependently without motor impairment. Our data revealed that this effect was mediated by the α4ß2 nAChRs by using competitive α4ß2 antagonist dihydro-ß-erythroidine. In addition, dFBr failed to potentiate the antiallodynic effect of morphine, which shows the effect of dFBr is unique to α4ß2 nAChRs. CONCLUSIONS: The present results suggest that allosteric modulation of α4ß2 nAChR may provide new strategies in chronic neuropathic pain. SIGNIFICANCE: α4ß2 nAChRs are involved in pain modulation. dFBr, a PAM at α4ß2 nAChRs, potentiates the nicotine response dose-dependently in neuropathic pain. Thus, the present results suggest that allosteric modulation of α4ß2* nAChR may provide new strategies in chronic neuropathic pain.

Effect of nicotine and alpha-7 nicotinic modulators on visceral pain-induced conditioned place aversion in mice.

BACKGROUND: Preclinical assays of affective and sensorial aspects of nociception play a key role in research on both the neurobiology of pain and the development of novel analgesics. Therefore, we investigated the effects of nicotine and alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) modulators in the negative affective and sensory components of visceral pain in mice. METHODS AND RESULTS: Intraperitoneal acetic acid (AA) administration resulted in a robust stretching behaviour and conditioned place aversion (CPA) in mice. We observed a dose-dependent reduction in AA-induced stretching and CPA by the nonselective nAChRs agonist nicotine. Mecamylamine, a nonselective nAChRs agonist, was able to block its effects; however, hexamethonium, a peripherally restricted nonselective nicotinic antagonist, was able to block nicotine's effect on stretching behaviour but not on CPA. In addition, systemic administration of α7 nAChR full agonists PHA543613 and PNU282987 was failed to block stretching and CPA behaviour induced by AA. However, the α7 nAChR-positive allosteric modulator PNU120596 blocked AA-induced CPA in a dose-dependent manner without reducing stretching behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Our data revealed that while nonselective nAChR activation induces antinociceptive properties on the sensorial and affective signs of visceral pain in mice, α7 nAChRS activation has no effect on these responses. In addition, nonselective nAChR activation-induced antinociceptive effect on stretching behaviour was mediated by central and peripheral mechanisms. However, the effect of nonselective nAChR activation on CPA was mediated centrally. Furthermore, our data suggest a pivotal role of allosteric modulation of α7 nAChRS in the negative affective, but not sensory, component of visceral pain. SIGNIFICANCE: The present results suggest that allosteric modulation of α7 nAChR may provide new strategies in affective aspects of nociception.

Diacylglycerol lipase ß inhibition reverses nociceptive behaviour in mouse models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Inhibition of diacylglycerol lipase (DGL)ß prevents LPS-induced pro-inflammatory responses in mouse peritoneal macrophages. Thus, the present study tested whether DGLß inhibition reverses allodynic responses of mice in the LPS model of inflammatory pain, as well as in neuropathic pain models. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Initial experiments examined the cellular expression of DGLß and inflammatory mediators within the LPS-injected paw pad. DAGL-ß (-/-) mice or wild-type mice treated with the DGLß inhibitor KT109 were assessed in the LPS model of inflammatory pain. Additional studies examined the locus of action for KT109-induced antinociception, its efficacy in chronic constrictive injury (CCI) of sciatic nerve and chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CINP) models. KEY RESULTS: Intraplantar LPS evoked mechanical allodynia that was associated with increased expression of DGLß, which was co-localized with increased TNF-α and prostaglandins in paws. DAGL-ß (-/-) mice or KT109-treated wild-type mice displayed reductions in LPS-induced allodynia. Repeated KT109 administration prevented the expression of LPS-induced allodynia, without evidence of tolerance. Intraplantar injection of KT109 into the LPS-treated paw, but not the contralateral paw, reversed the allodynic responses. However, i.c.v. or i.t. administration of KT109 did not alter LPS-induced allodynia. Finally, KT109 also reversed allodynia in the CCI and CINP models and lacked discernible side effects (e.g. gross motor deficits, anxiogenic behaviour or gastric ulcers). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings suggest that local inhibition of DGLß at the site of inflammation represents a novel avenue to treat pathological pain, with no apparent untoward side effects.

Cyanide poisoning deaths in dogs.

In 2005, the deaths of three dogs were reported in Erdek, Turkey. Examining appropriate historical and clinical signs, postmortem findings and the discovery of cyanide in their stomachs and intestinal contents and livers supported a diagnosis of cyanide poisoning.