Changes in neuronal markers in a mononeuropathic rat model: relationship between neuropeptide Y, pre-emptive drug treatment and long-term mechanical hyperalgesia

Abstract

Using the chronic constriction model (CCI) of Bennett and Xie (1988), changes in the lumbar spinal cord in neuropeptides and lectin IB 4 were examined at 28 days post-nerve constriction and were compared with the degree of mechanical hyperalgesia. Animals following nerve ligation were significantly more hyperalgesic than sham-operated animals ( P < 0.0001). Lectin IB4, a marker of primary afferent C fibres, showed a qualitative decrease in staining intensity in laminae 1–2 with ligation compared with both the unoperated contralateral side and with sham animals. Using fluorescent immunohistochemistry to quantify changes in neuropeptides in the dorsal horn we found that substance P showed significant decreases with ligation compared to sham operation ( P < 0.002). CGRP and galanin showed no significant changes in laminae 1–2 compared to sham-operated animals. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) showed no significant changes in intensity in laminae 1–2; however, in laminae 3–4 there was a significant increase with nerve ligation compared to sham ( P < 0.005). We examined how pre-emptive drug treatment affected these neuronal markers at 28 days. We used (1) clonidine, an α 2-adrenoreceptor agonist (1 mg/kg, i.p.), (2) morphine, a μ-opioid agonist (5 mg/kg, i.p.) or (3) MK-801, an N-methyl- d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist (0.3 mg/kg, s.c.) administered 30 min prior and 6 h following nerve ligation or sham-operation. Hyperalgesia in the ligated group at 28 days was suppressed by treatment with pre-emptive clonidine ( P = 0.003) or MK-801 ( P = 0.003) but not morphine. With the exception of NPY there was no effect of pre-emptive drug treatment on any neuronal marker examined. Pre-emptive MK-801 reduced the magnitude of the increase in NPY in laminae 3–4 in the ligated group ( P < 0.005) and clonidine showed a similar trend but this did not reach significance. Morphine had no effect on NPY staining. There was a significant correlation between the increase in NPY staining in laminae 3–4 and the degree of hyperalgesia ( r = 0.6, P < 0.001). These results suggest that the increased NPY expression in laminae 3–4 of the spinal cord (the territory of the myelinated sensory input) may be crucial to the development of hyperalgesia in this model.