Spinal p38 activity and analgesic effect after low- and high-intensity electroacupuncture stimulation in a plantar incision rat model
Abstract
Postoperative pain is a major problem. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been accepted as a useful and low-risk complementary therapy for post-operative pain. Animal studies indicate that surgical incision activates p38 MAPK in the spinal microglia, which critically contributes to post-incisional nociceptive development. How EA affects incision-induced p38 activation is important but yet to be fully elucidated. Male adult rats received plantar incision (PI) at the right hind paw followed by 30-min EA of 4-Hz, one of two intensities (3 and 10mA), and at right ST36 (Zusanli) acupoint immediately after PI and for 3 successive days. EA analgesia was evaluated by von Frey fibers and Hargreaves' tests. Spinal p38 activation was examined by immunostaining. In separate groups, SB203580, a p38 inhibitor, was intrathecally injected alone or with EA to test the combining effect on nociception and spinal phospho-p38. EA of 10-mA significantly ameliorated mechanical allodynia, but 3-mA did not. None of them altered thermal hyperalgesia. Repeated EA could not inhibit phospho-p38 in the PI rats, contrarily, EA per se significantly induced phospho-p38 in the normal rats. Intrathecal SB203580 injection dose-dependently prevented PI-induced allodynia....Continue Reading
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