Decreased glutamatergic synaptic strength in the periaqueductal gray contributes to maintenance of visceral pain in male rats with experimental pancreatitis

Publication date: Available online 27 December 2019Source: NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Qiaoling Liu, Chih-Yuan Ko, Chen Zheng, Lichao Ye, Bo Liu, Hongzhi Gao, Donghong Huang, Dylan ChouAbstractVisceral pain originating from chronic inflammation of the pancreas is often intractable and difficult to manage clinically. However, the pathogenesis of the central nervous system underlying visceral pain is still poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the midbrain ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) in a rat model of chronic visceral pain induced by pancreatitis. In the present study, we used a well-established rat model of chronic pancreatitis induced by tail vein injection of dibutyltin dichloride (DBTC). To assess the DBTC-induced visceral pain, we examined the abdominal withdrawal by von Frey filament test. We further studied the synaptic transmission in the vlPAG by whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiological recordings. Rats receiving DBTC injection exhibited a significantly increased withdrawal frequency to mechanical stimulation of the abdomen compared to rats injected with vehicle. Interestingly, compared to rats injected with vehicle, we found that neurons dissected from DBTC-treated rats exhibited a significantly decreased synaptic strength, which was revealed by a diminishedα-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid/ N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (AMPA/NMDA) ratio in the vlPAG. Moreover, our results further demonstrated that n...
Source: Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research