Characterization of acute somatosensory pain transmission in P/Q-type Ca(2+) channel mutant mice, leaner

FEBS Lett. 2001 Nov 16;508(2):181-6. doi: 10.1016/s0014-5793(01)03052-6.

Abstract

To study the role of the Ca(v)2.1/alpha(1A) (P/Q-type) Ca(2+) channel in somatosensory pain processing, behavioral and electrophysiological studies were conducted using the leaner (tg(la)/tg(la)) mouse. Behavioral analyses in tg(la)/tg(la) revealed reduced responses to mechanical stimuli, and enhanced responses to heat stimuli. Electrophysiological analyses showed that tg(la)/tg(la) had a significantly reduced ability to evoke dorsal root potentials, suggesting a functional deficit in the spinal dorsal horn local circuitry responsible for presynaptic inhibition of primary sensory fibers. These results suggest the critical importance of the P/Q-type channel in modulation of acute somatosensory pain transmission in spinal cord.

MeSH terms

  • Action Potentials / drug effects
  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Calcium Channel Blockers / pharmacology
  • Calcium Channels, N-Type / genetics*
  • Calcium Channels, N-Type / metabolism*
  • Capsaicin / pharmacology
  • Electrophysiology
  • Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / drug effects
  • Hot Temperature
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Mutant Strains
  • Mutation / genetics*
  • Opioid Peptides / pharmacology
  • Pain / chemically induced
  • Pain / genetics
  • Pain / metabolism*
  • Pain Insensitivity, Congenital / genetics
  • Pain Measurement
  • Receptors, GABA-A / metabolism
  • Receptors, Tachykinin / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Spinal Nerve Roots / drug effects
  • Spinal Nerve Roots / physiology
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Calcium Channel Blockers
  • Calcium Channels, N-Type
  • Opioid Peptides
  • Receptors, GABA-A
  • Receptors, Tachykinin
  • voltage-dependent calcium channel (P-Q type)
  • Capsaicin