Spatio-temporal expression of P2X3 receptor in rats with diabetic mechanical allodynia / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the spatio-temporal expression of P2X3 receptor ( P2X3R) in rats with diabetic mechanical allodynia ( DMA ) .Methods DMA model in rats was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozocin ( STZ) .The von Frey filaments were applied to identify the changes of the paw withdrawal threshold ( PWT) in DMA rats.Immunofluorescence was employed to detect the spatio-temporal expression of P2X3R in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH), dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and hind paw skin on different time points after intraperitoneal injection of STZ , respectively.The protein expression of P2X3R in SDH and DRG was further semi-quantitatively analyzed by Western blotting.Results Compared with control group , intraperitoneal injection STZ induced significant mechanical allodynia indicated by the reduced PWT from 7 days, and which reached the peak on 14d and maintained to 28days (P<0.05). The expression of P2X3R in DRG neurons was significantly increased on 14 days and 21 days (P<0.05), while that in SDH and skin was markedly increased on 21 days and 28 days, compared with control group (P<0.05).Conclusion With the progress of DMA, the expression of P2X3R was significantly increased in the SDH, DRG and skin, which was almost parallel with the mechanical allodynia , but the changes in SDH and skin were 1 week later than that in DRG .These results suggest that P2X3R may play a key role in the maintenance of the DMA .