Role of the autophagy in the treatment of neuropathic pain with pulsed radiofrequency / 中南大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Objective:To detect the effect of pulse radiofrequency (PRF) treatment on the neuropathic pain established by L5-spinal nerve ligation (SNL) on rats,and to investigate if PRF treatment would affect the expression of autophagy related protein LC3 and autophagy related receptor P62 at the dorsal horn.Methods:A total of 36 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groupsa Sham group,a SNL group,and a SNL+PRF group.The 50％ paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) was detected at 1 day before and 1,3,7,14 and 28 days post-operation by using Von-Frey filaments.The autophagy related protein LC3 and autophagy related receptor P62 were investigated by Western blot.Results:Compared with the Sham group,the PWMT significantly decreased in the SNL group at each time points (P＜0.05);in SNL+PRF group,PRF treatment could elevate the PWMT at the 1st day post-operation and lasted for 28 days (P＜0.05).What's more,SNL could elevate the LC3-Ⅱ and P62 levels at the 7th day post-operation (P＜0.05),which were decreased by the PRF treatment (P＜0.05).Conclusion:PRF treatment could improve SNL-induced the neuropathic pain,which might be partly due to the regulatory effects on the autophagy levels at the spinal dorsal horn.