Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: Nav1.3 , Nav1.7 , Nav1.8 , Slo1

Title: Neural tissue engineering scaffold with sustained RAPA release relieves neuropathic pain in rats.

Authors: Tan Ding, Chao Zhu, Zhen-Zhen Kou, Jun-Bin Yin, Ting Zhang, Ya-Cheng Lu, Li-Ying Wang, Zhuo-Jing Luo, Yun-qing Li

Journal, date & volume: Life Sci., 2014 Sep 1 , 112, 22-32

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25050464

Abstract
To investigate the effect of locally slow-released rapamycin (RAPA) from bionic peripheral nerve stent to reduce the incidence of neuropathic pain or mitigate the degree of pain after nerve injury.We constructed a neural tissue engineering scaffold with sustained release of RAPA to repair 20mm defects in rat sciatic nerves. Four presurgical and postsurgical time windows were selected to monitor the changes in the expression of pain-related dorsal root ganglion (DRG) voltage-gated sodium channels 1.3 (Nav1.3), 1.7 (Nav1.7), and 1.8 (Nav1.8) through immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western Blot, along with the observation of postsurgical pathological pain in rats by pain-related behavior approaches.Relatively small upregulation of DRG sodium channels was observed in the experimental group (RAPA+poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)+stent) after surgery, along with low degrees of neuropathic pain and anxiety, which were similar to those in the Autologous nerve graft group.Autoimmune inflammatory response plays a leading role in the occurrence of post-traumatic neuropathic pain, and that RAPA significantly inhibits the abnormal upregulation of sodium channels to reduce pain by alleviating inflammatory response.