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Research
DNIC-mediated analgesia produced by a supramaximal electrical or a high-dose formalin conditioning stimulus: roles of opioid and α2-adrenergic receptors
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* Corresponding author: Wei-Zen Sun wzsun@ntu.edu.tw
1 Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
2 School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
3 Department of Anesthesiology, Shin-Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
4 School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei County, Taiwan
5 Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
6 Department of Anesthesiology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Journal of Biomedical Science 2010, 17:19 doi:10.1186/1423-0127-17-19
Published: 19 March 2010Abstract
Background
Diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC) can be produced by different types of conditioning stimuli, but the analgesic properties and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this study was to differentiate the induction of DNIC analgesia between noxious electrical and inflammatory conditioning stimuli.
Methods
First, rats subjected to either a supramaximal electrical stimulation or an injection of high-dose formalin in the hind limb were identified to have pain responses with behavioral evidence and spinal Fos-immunoreactive profiles. Second, suppression of tail-flick latencies by the two noxious stimuli was assessed to confirm the presence of DNIC. Third, an opioid receptor antagonist (naloxone) and an α2-adrenoreceptor antagonist (yohimbine) were injected, intraperitoneally and intrathecally respectively, before conditioning noxious stimuli to test the involvement of descending inhibitory pathways in DNIC-mediated analgesia.
Results
An intramuscular injection of 100 μl of 5% formalin produced noxious behaviors with cumulative pain scores similar to those of 50 μl of 2% formalin in the paw. Both electrical and chemical stimulation significantly increased Fos expression in the superficial dorsal horns, but possessed characteristic distribution patterns individually. Both conditioning stimuli prolonged the tail-flick latencies indicating a DNIC response. However, the electrical stimulation-induced DNIC was reversed by yohimbine, but not by naloxone; whereas noxious formalin-induced analgesia was both naloxone- and yohimbine-reversible.
Conclusions
It is demonstrated that DNIC produced by different types of conditioning stimuli can be mediated by different descending inhibitory controls, indicating the organization within the central nervous circuit is complex and possibly exhibits particular clinical manifestations.