Abstract
Sophorae Flavescentis Radix (SFR) is a medicinal herb with many functions that are involved in anti-inflammation, antinociception, and anticancer. SFR is also used to treat a variety of itching diseases. Matrine (MT) is one of the main constituents in SFR and also has the effect of relieving itching, but the antipruritic mechanism is still unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of MT on anti-pruritus. In acute and chronic itch models, MT significantly inhibited the scratching behavior not only in acute itching induced by histamine (His), chloroquine (CQ) and compound 48/80 with a dose-depended manner, but also in the chronic pruritus models of atopic dermatitis (AD) and acetone-ether-water (AEW) in mice. Furthermore, MT could be detected in the blood after intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) and subcutaneous injection (s.c.). Finally, electrophysiological and calcium imaging results showed that MT inhibited the excitatory synaptic transmission from dorsal root ganglion (DRG) to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord by suppressing the presynaptic N-type calcium channel. Taken together, we believe that MT is a novel drug candidate in treating pruritus diseases, especially for histamine-independent and chronic pruritus, which might be attributed to inhibition of the presynaptic N-type calcium channel.
Highlights
Itch, an unpleasant sensation that evokes a desire to scratch[1], is one of the important physiological functions that humans and animals acquired during their long-term evolution
When administrated orally at a dose of 200 mg/kg, Sophorae Flavescentis Radix (SFR) significantly inhibited serotonin (5-HT)-induced itch behaviors and spontaneous scratching bouts of mice induced by an atopic dermatitis (AD) model; the inhibitory effect of SFR on 5-HT was a dose-dependent manner[33]
One-tenth of the population suffers from this symptom, and this rate is even higher among old people[1]
Summary
Xiao Geng[1], Hao Shi[1], Fan Ye1, Han Du2, Linnan Qian[1], Leying Gu1, Guanyi Wu1, Chan Zhu[1], YanYang[1], Changming Wang1,Yuan Zhou[1], GuangYu 1, Qin Liu[3], Xinzhong Dong 4,5, Lei Yu1 & Zongxiang Tang[1]. In the central nervous system, the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) plays an important role in mediating itch sensation[21] These studies have led to a better understanding of the mechanisms of itch formation, but when we are faced with many patients who are suffering from itching and who feel helpless, new treatments and antipruritic drugs, including traditional Chinese herbal medicines, are becoming a strong desire and an urgent need. When administrated orally at a dose of 200 mg/kg, SFR significantly inhibited serotonin (5-HT)-induced itch behaviors and spontaneous scratching bouts of mice induced by an atopic dermatitis (AD) model; the inhibitory effect of SFR on 5-HT was a dose-dependent manner[33] These studies suggested that SFR and MT inhibited the histamine-dependent and the histamine-independent-induced itch; the type and mechanism of SFR and MT anti-pruritus remained unclear. Our findings suggest that MT could be developed into a novel drug candidate in treating pruritus disorders, especially for some patients with chronic pruritus that are difficult to deal with
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