Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2012, Vol. 7 ›› Issue (20): 1540-1544.

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Nav1.7 protein and mRNA expression in the dorsal root ganglia of rats with chronic neuropathic pain

Chao Liu, Jing Cao, Xiuhua Ren, Weidong Zang   

  1. Laboratory of Anatomy, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan Province, China
  • Received:2012-01-11 Revised:2012-05-21 Online:2012-07-15 Published:2012-07-15
  • Contact: Jing Cao, Master, Associate professor, Laboratory of Anatomy, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan Province, China; Weidong Zang, M.D., Professor, Laboratory of Anatomy, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan Province, China caojing73@126.com; zwd@zzu.edu.cn
  • About author:Chao Liu★, Master, Laboratory of Anatomy, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan Province, China Chao Liu and Jing Cao contributed equally to this article.

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Abstract:

Neuropathic pain was produced by chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve in rats. Behavioral tests showed that the thresholds for thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia were significantly reduced in neuropathic pain rats 3-28 days following model induction. The results of immunohistochemistry, western blot assays and reverse transcription-PCR showed that Nav1.7 protein and mRNA expression was significantly increased in the injured dorsal root ganglia. These findings indicated that Nav1.7 might play an important role in the model of chronic neuropathic pain.

Key words: Nav1.7, neuropathic pain, dorsal root ganglia, sodium channel, sensitization, hyperalgesia, rege-neration, neural regeneration