bemesetron and Pain

Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) has been reported to be effective in the treatment of several types of pain. The mechanism of action, however, is not well known. In a recent study, the antinociceptive effects of acute thermal pain were shown to be mediated via descending pain inhibitory pathways. In this study we observed an analgesic effect of PRF treatment in an adjuvant induced inflammatory pain model in rats. In this model, sciatic nerves were treated with PRF at 37 degrees and 42 degrees , which inhibited hyperalgesia in the inflammatory groups when compared to RF and sham treatment. This effect was attenuated after intrathecal administration of the alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine, the selective 5-HT3 serotonin receptor antagonist MDL72222, and the non-selective serotonin receptor antagonist methysergide. All three drugs were found to significantly inhibit the analgesic effect of PRF. The results suggest that the analgesic action of PRF involves the enhancement of noradrenergic and serotonergic descending pain inhibitory pathways.

Topics: Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; Analgesia; Animals; Brain Stem; Catecholamines; Catheter Ablation; Disease Models, Animal; Efferent Pathways; Freund's Adjuvant; Inflammation; Male; Neural Inhibition; Nociceptors; Pain; Pain Management; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sciatic Neuropathy; Serotonin; Serotonin Antagonists; Treatment Outcome; Tropanes; Yohimbine

cis-4-(Piperazin-1-yl)-5,6,7a,8,9,10,11,11a-octahydrobenzofuro[2,3-h]quinazolin-2-amine, 4 (A-987306) is a new histamine H(4) antagonist. The compound is potent in H(4) receptor binding assays (rat H(4), K(i) = 3.4 nM, human H(4) K(i) = 5.8 nM) and demonstrated potent functional antagonism in vitro at human, rat, and mouse H(4) receptors in cell-based FLIPR assays. Compound 4 also demonstrated H(4) antagonism in vivo in mice, blocking H(4)-agonist induced scratch responses, and showed anti-inflammatory activity in mice in a peritonitis model. Most interesting was the high potency and efficacy of this compound in blocking pain responses, where it showed an ED(50) of 42 mumol/kg (ip) in a rat post-carrageenan thermal hyperalgesia model of inflammatory pain.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Benzofurans; Carrageenan; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Design; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Humans; Hyperalgesia; Ligands; Mice; Molecular Structure; Pain; Peritonitis; Quinazolines; Rats; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; Receptors, Histamine; Receptors, Histamine H4; Stereoisomerism; Structure-Activity Relationship

Neurotropin((R)), a non-protein extract from the inflamed skin of rabbits inoculated with vaccinia virus, has been clinically used as an analgesic drug for treatment of chronic pain. In this study, we investigated the analgesic mechanisms of Neurotropin in the adjuvant-induced arthritic rat, a chronic pain model with inflammation. Neurotropin caused dose-dependent inhibition of hyperalgesia in the adjuvant-induced arthritic rat after single intravenous (10 - 100 NU/kg) and oral (30 - 200 NU/kg) administration. The analgesic effect of Neurotropin (intravenous 100 NU/kg and oral 200 NU/kg) was significantly inhibited by intrathecal injections of the alpha(2)-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine (30 nmol/animal) and the selective 5-HT(3) serotonin receptor antagonist MDL72222 (30 nmol/animal), and slightly inhibited by the non-selective serotonin receptor antagonist methysergide (100 nmol/animal). The results suggest that the analgesic action of Neurotropin is at least in part due to the enhancement of noradrenergic and serotonergic descending pain inhibitory pathways. Neurotropin may be useful for the clinical management of chronic pain diseases such as a rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Antagonists; Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; Analgesics; Animals; Arthritis, Experimental; Chronic Disease; Clonidine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Hyperalgesia; Injections, Intravenous; Injections, Spinal; Lumbosacral Region; Male; Methysergide; Pain; Pain Threshold; Polysaccharides; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rats, Wistar; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2; Receptors, Serotonin; Serotonin Antagonists; Time Factors; Tropanes; Yohimbine

We used the formalin test to clarify the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor subtypes involved in the modulation of spinal nociceptive transmission in rats. Intrathecal administration of a 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)-tetraline (8-OH-DPAT; 1, 10, and 30 microg), or a 5-HT1B receptor agonist, 1, 4-dihydro-3-(1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydro-4-pyridinyl)-5H-pyrrol (3, 2-b) pyridin-5-one (CP 93129; 1 and 10 microg), produced no significant change in the number of flinches. A 5-HT(2) receptor agonist, (+/-)-2, 5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI; 10, 30, and 100 microg), and a 5-HT3 receptor agonist, 2-methyl-5-HT (100 and 300 microg), produced dose-dependent decreases in the number of flinches in phases 1 (1 to 6 min) and 2 (10 to 61 min) of the test. The antinociceptive effects of DOI and 2-methyl-5-HT were antagonized by intrathecal pretreatment with a 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, ketanserin, and a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, 3-tropanyl-3, 5-dichlorobenzoate (MDL-72222), respectively. These results suggest that 5-HT2 and 5-HT3 receptors in the spinal cord mediate antinociception to chemical stimuli.

Topics: 8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin; Amphetamines; Animals; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Formaldehyde; Injections, Spinal; Male; Nociceptors; Pain; Pain Measurement; Pyridines; Pyrroles; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1B; Receptors, Serotonin; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT1; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT3; Serotonin; Serotonin Antagonists; Serotonin Receptor Agonists; Spinal Cord; Synaptic Transmission; Tropanes

The involvement of 5-HT receptors in the antinociceptive effect of FR140423, 3-(difluoromethyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-[4-(methylsulfinyl)phenyl]py razole, was investigated in mice by means of the tail-pinch test. The antinociceptive effect of FR140423 injected i.t. was completely abolished by co-administration of the non-selective serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) receptor antagonist methysergide, the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist ketanserin and the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist MDL-72222 (3-tropanyl-3,5-dichlorobenzoate) but not by the 5-HT2B receptor antagonist SB-204741 (N-(1-methyl-5-indolyl)-N'-(3-methylisothiazol-5-yl)urea) or the 5-HT2C receptor antagonist SB-242084 (6-chloro-5-methyl-N-[6-(2-methylpyridin-3-yloxy)pyridin-3-y l]indolin e-1-carboxamine). The antinociceptive effect of FR140423 administered orally was abolished by i.t., but not by i.c.v., injection of methysergide, ketanserin and MDL-72222. These data indicate that FR140423, unlike morphine, exerts its antinociceptive effect against a mechanical noxious stimulus, such as in the tail-pinch test, by activation of spinal 5-HT2A and 5-HT3 receptors.

Topics: Analgesics; Animals; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Injections, Intraventricular; Injections, Spinal; Ketanserin; Male; Methysergide; Mice; Pain; Pain Measurement; Piperazines; Pyrazoles; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A; Receptors, Serotonin; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT3; Serotonin; Serotonin Antagonists; Serotonin Receptor Agonists; Spinal Cord; Sulfoxides; Tropanes

Recent studies have shown that non-opioid defensive analgesia in male mice is potently inhibited by the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, ondansetron. The present series of experiments was conducted to further explore the involvement of 5-HT3 receptor mechanisms in this particular form of adaptive inhibition of pain. The drug ICS 205-930 significantly attenuated the reaction at 1.25-2.5 micrograms/kg, with smaller and larger doses being ineffective. Both MDL 72222 and MDL 73147EF produced flat dose-response curves, with significant inhibition of defensive analgesia at minimum effective doses of less than or equal to 10 and 300 micrograms/kg, respectively. Although MDL 72699, the quaternary salt of MDL 72222, also inhibited the reaction, this effect was seen at comparatively large doses (0.5-1.0 mg/kg) only. None of the compounds tested had significant intrinsic effects of tail-flick latencies, over the dose ranges tested. These findings indicate that 5-HT3 receptor mechanisms may have an important modulatory role in certain forms of "stress" analgesia. Data are discussed in relation to the consistent profile of partial inhibition produced by 5-HT3 receptor antagonists in this model.

Topics: Analgesia; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Hot Temperature; Indoles; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred DBA; Pain; Posture; Quinolizines; Receptors, Serotonin; Reference Values; Serotonin Antagonists; Stereotyped Behavior; Tropanes; Tropisetron

Our work has focused on identifying the type of serotonin receptor through which serotonin acts as a developmental signal in the central nervous system. Previously, we have found that the regulation of development of ascending serotonergic neurons is through the balance of two serotonin receptors. One, the 5-HT1a receptor, releases a growth factor from astroglial cells. The other receptor is related to a release-regulating autoreceptor and can be stimulated indirectly by serotonin releasers such as fenfluramine. In the present study, we examined the receptors which regulate development of the descending neurons by treating pregnant rats with selective serotonergic drugs, from gestation day 12 until birth. Pups were subsequently tested for alterations in development by nociceptive testing (tail-flick latency) and by determining the binding of 3H-paroxetine, an indicator of serotonin terminal density, in spinal cord. Our results show that agents stimulating the 5-HT1a receptor (8-OH-DPAT) or the 5-HT1b receptor (TFMPP) or substances which release serotonin (fenfluramine) had no effect on the development of spinal serotonergic pathways. However, agents acting on the 5-HT3 receptor did--the agonist phenylbiguanide (PG) increased latency on tail-flick testing (postnatal days 10 and 30), while the antagonist, MDL 72222, decreased latency (postnatal days 10 and 18). Interestingly, both the agonist and the antagonist significantly increased 3H-paroxetine binding on postnatal day 18. Our results are discussed in terms of a possible mechanism by which 5-HT3 receptors may influence development.

Topics: 8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin; Aging; Animals; Biguanides; Female; Fenfluramine; Hypoglycemic Agents; Maternal-Fetal Exchange; Neurons; Pain; Paroxetine; Piperazines; Piperidines; Pregnancy; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Receptors, Serotonin; Serotonin; Serotonin Antagonists; Spinal Cord; Tetrahydronaphthalenes; Tropanes

Electrical stimulation in the nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis (NGC) and gigantocellularis pars alpha (NGC alpha) produces facilitation and/or inhibition of spinal nociceptive transmission in behavioral and electrophysiological studies. The present study examined spinal neurotransmitter receptors mediating descending facilitation from the NGC/NGC alpha. As previously demonstrated, electrical stimulation in the NGC/NGC alpha at low intensities (approximately equal to 10 microA) produced facilitation and at greater intensities (approximately equal to 38 microA) inhibition of the tail-flick (TF) reflex. Intrathecal pretreatment with the non-selective serotonin (5-HT) receptor antagonist methysergide attenuated or completely abolished facilitation of the TF reflex produced by electrical stimulation in the NGC/NGC alpha; intrathecal pretreatment with atropine, phentolamine, naloxone or mecamylamine was without effect on stimulation-produced facilitation. Descending inhibition from the NGC/NGC alpha produced by electrical stimulation was attenuated or completely abolished by bilateral transection of the dorsolateral funiculi (DLF) of the cervical spinal cord. Descending facilitation produced by electrical stimulation, however, was unaffected or enhanced following DLF transections. Glutamate microinjections (1.7 nmol/0.17 microliters) into the NGC/NGC alpha produced a rapid, repeatable and short-duration facilitation of the TF reflex in rats with bilateral DLF transections and such facilitation was attenuated by intrathecal pretreatment with methysergide, but not atropine, xylamidine (5-HT2 selective receptor antagonist) or MDL-72222 (5-HT3 selective receptor antagonist). These findings suggest that facilitation of the TF reflex from the activation of the cell bodies in the NGC/NGC alpha is mediated by a descending serotonergic pathway traveling in the ventrolateral funiculi and by spinal 5-HT1 receptors.

Topics: Amidines; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Atropine; Blood Pressure; Brain; Electric Stimulation; Heart Rate; Hot Temperature; Injections, Spinal; Male; Mecamylamine; Medulla Oblongata; Methysergide; Naloxone; Pain; Phentolamine; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Receptors, Serotonin; Reflex; Serotonin Antagonists; Sodium Glutamate; Spinal Cord; Tropanes

The present study examined patterns of analgesia by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) or intrathecal (i.t.) administration of the serotonin 5-HT3 receptor agonist, 2-methylserotonin (1-100 micrograms) against acute thermal, mechanical or formalin-induced chemo-inflammatory pain in male rats. Neither i.c.v. or i.t. 2-methylserotonin produced motoric, sedative or respiratory effects. I.c.v. 2-methylserotonin was not analgesic at any dose in the pain assays employed. I.t. 2-methylserotonin produced dose-related analgesia in the formalin test with significant effects at 20-100 micrograms doses. In contrast, only the 100 micrograms dose of 2-methylserotonin produced analgesia against thermal pain, and analgesia was not observed at any dose in the mechanical pain test. The effects of 2-methylserotonin (100 micrograms) in the formalin test were attenuated by pretreatment (10 micrograms i.t.) with the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist MDL-72222, opioid antagonist naloxone or GABA antagonist bicuculline; the 5-HT2-receptor antagonist ketanserin or 5-HT1 receptor antagonist mianserin did not affect 2-methylserotonin-induced analgesia. In the thermal test, i.t. pretreatment with MDL-72222, ketanserin, naloxone or bicuculline, but not mianserin, reduced analgesic effects of 2-methylserotonin (100 micrograms i.t.). These findings suggest that spinal 5-HT3, opioid and GABA receptor systems interact to mediate acute chemo-inflammatory pain, and implicate the interaction of these systems with 5-HT2 receptor substrates in analgesia against acute thermal nociception.

Topics: Analgesics; Animals; Bicuculline; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Injections, Intraventricular; Injections, Spinal; Ketanserin; Male; Mianserin; Motor Activity; Naloxone; Nociceptors; Pain; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Receptors, Serotonin; Respiration; Serotonin; Serotonin Antagonists; Tropanes