CHANGES OF Aβ FIBERS SPROUTING IN DORSAL HORN OF LUMBAR CORD ON NEUROPATHIC PAIN MODEL IN RATS / 神经解剖学杂志

ABSTRACT

It is proposed that following peripheral nerve injury abnormal sprouting of Aβ fiber primary afferent neurons in the spinal cord contributes to the allodynia that often occurs with such injury. The present investigation is to determine whether this sprouting is reversal after compression of peripheral nerve was relieved. In a rat model of neuropathic pain made by rat sciatic nerve compression,chorela toxin B subunit conjugated horseradish peroxidase (CB-HRP) was used to trace the termination of Afiber primary afferents and sections were reacted for using tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) as the chromagen. We demonstrated that the compression to the sciatic nerve also results in hyperalgesia and novel transganglionic CB-HRP staining in laminae Ⅱ, and this sprouting can not be reversed by decompression. This structural reorganization in central nervous system and its irreversible character may contribute to the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain.