Changes in expression of NMDA-NR1 receptor subunits in the rostral ventromedial medulla modulate pain behaviors

Luis Felipe S Da Silva; Roxanne Y Walder; Beverly L Davidson; Steven P Wilson; Kathleen A Sluka

doi:10.1016/j.pain.2010.06.037

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Changes in expression of NMDA-NR1 receptor subunits in the rostral ventromedial medulla modulate pain behaviors

Journal article

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Changes in expression of NMDA-NR1 receptor subunits in the rostral ventromedial medulla modulate pain behaviors

Luis Felipe S Da Silva, Roxanne Y Walder, Beverly L Davidson, Steven P Wilson and Kathleen A Sluka

Pain (Amsterdam), Vol.151(1), pp.155-161

2010

DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2010.06.037

PMID: 20688433

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/2943935View

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Abstract

NMDA receptors have an important role in pain facilitation in rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) and the NR1 subunit is essential for its function. Studies suggest that the NMDA receptors in RVM are critical to modulate both cutaneous and muscle hypersensitivity induced by repeated intramuscular acid injections. We propose that increased expression of the NR1 subunit in the RVM is critical for the full development of hypersensitivity. To test this we used recombinant lentiviruses to over-express the NR1 subunit in the RVM and measured nociceptive sensitivity to cutaneous and muscle stimuli. We also downregulated the expression of NR1 in the RVM and measured the hyperalgesia produced by repeated-acid injections. Increasing the expression of NR1 in the RVM reduces cutaneous and muscle withdrawal threshold, and decreasing the expression of NR1 in the RVM increases the muscle withdrawal threshold and prevents the development of hyperalgesia in an animal model of muscle pain. These results suggest that the NR1 subunits in the RVM are critical for modulating NMDA receptor function, which in turn sets the ‘tone’ of the nervous system’s response to noxious stimuli and tissue injury.

NR1 subunit

Rostral ventromedial medulla

Muscle pain

NMDA receptors

Hyperalgesia

FIV virus

Details

Title: Subtitle: Changes in expression of NMDA-NR1 receptor subunits in the rostral ventromedial medulla modulate pain behaviors
Creators: Luis Felipe S Da Silva - Veterinary Science Department, Center for Agrarian Sciences, University of Paraiba, Areia, PB 58397-000, Brazil
Roxanne Y Walder - Graduate Program in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Neuroscience Graduate Program, Pain Research Program, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Beverly L Davidson - Internal Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Steven P Wilson - Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Kathleen A Sluka - Graduate Program in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Neuroscience Graduate Program, Pain Research Program, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Pain (Amsterdam), Vol.151(1), pp.155-161
DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2010.06.037
PMID: 20688433
NLM abbreviation: Pain
ISSN: 0304-3959
eISSN: 1872-6623
Publisher: Elsevier B.V
Language: English
Date published: 2010
Academic Unit: Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Nursing; Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science; Neuroscience and Pharmacology
Record Identifier: 9984040017902771

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