Activin induces tactile allodynia and increases calcitonin gene-related peptide after peripheral inflammation
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
10-5-2005
Journal
Journal of Neuroscience
Volume
25
Issue
40
DOI
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3051-05.2005
Keywords
Activin; CGRP; Inflammation; NGF; Sensory neurons; Tactile allodynia
Abstract
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a sensory neuropeptide important in inflammatory pain that conveys pain information centrally and dilates blood vessels peripherally. Previous studies indicate that activin A increases CGRP-immunoreactive (IR) sensory neurons in vitro, and following wound, activin A protein increases in the skin and more neurons have detectable CGRP expression in the innervating dorsal root ganglion (DRG). These data suggest some adult sensory neurons respond to activin A or other target-derived factors with increased neuropeptide expression. This study was undertaken to test whether activin contributes to inflammatory pain and increased CGRP and to learn which neurons retained plasticity. After adjuvant-induced inflammation, activin mRNA, but not NGF or glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, increased in the skin. To examine which DRG neurons increased CGRP immunoreactivity, retrograde tracer-labeled cutaneous neurons were characterized after inflammation. The proportion and size of tracer-labeled DRG neurons with detectable CGRP increased after inflammation. One-third of CGRP-IR neurons that appear after inflammation also had isolectin B4 binding, suggesting that some mechanoreceptors became CGRP-IR. In contrast, the increased proportion of CGRP-IR neurons did not appear to come from RT97-IR neurons. To learn whether central projections were altered after inflammation, CGRP immunoreactivity in the protein kinase Cγ-IR lamina IIi was quantified and found to increase. Injection of activin A protein alone caused robust tactile allodynia and increased CGRP in the DRG. Together, these data support the hypothesis that inflammation and skin changes involving activin A cause some sensory neurons to increase CGRP expression and pain responses. Copyright © 2005 Society for Neuroscience.
APA Citation
Xu, P., Van Slambrouck, C., Berti-Mattera, L., & Hall, A. (2005). Activin induces tactile allodynia and increases calcitonin gene-related peptide after peripheral inflammation. Journal of Neuroscience, 25 (40). http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3051-05.2005