Activation of the neuronal potassium channel Kv7.2 encoded by the KCNQ2 gene has recently been shown to be an attractive mechanism to inhibit nociceptive transmission. However, potent, selective, and clinically proven activators of Kv7.2/Kv7.3 currents with analgesic properties are still lacking. An important prerequisite for the development of new drugs is a model to test the selectivity of no...

Voltage-gated sodium channels, which are involved in pain pathways, have emerged as major targets for therapeutic intervention in pain disorders. Nav1.7, the tetrodotoxin-sensitive voltage-gated sodium channel isoform encoded by SCN9A and predominantly expressed in pain-sensing neurons in the dorsal root ganglion, plays a crucial role in nociception. MicroRNAs are highly conserved, small non-co...

Neuropathic pain is a common clinical condition. Current treatments are often inadequate, ineffective, or produce potentially severe adverse effects. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain will be helpful in identifying new therapeutic targets and developing effective strategies for the prevention and/or treatment of this disorder. The gen...

Although the cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) is reported to antagonize the kappa-opioid-receptor-mediated analgesic effect in spinal cord, its mechanism and sites of action remain obscure. In the present study, the whole-cell patch-clamp recording technique was employed to examine the effect of kappa-opioid agonist U50488H on voltage-gated calcium channels and the interaction between the CC...

In the present study, eight specimens of sheep (>1 year) of both sexes were dissected to provide a comprehensive description of the weight, allocation and nerve branches of the cranial cervical ganglion. The cranial cervical ganglion was found beneath the mandibular salivary gland. It was located ventromedial to tympanic bulla and ventrally to atlantic fossa. In three out of eight animals it wa...

We have examined the effects of acrylamide on primary sensory nerve cell bodies and their myelinated axons in chronic acrylamide intoxication. The numbers and sizes of dorsal root ganglion cell bodies (L5) and myelinated nerve fibers were estimated with sterelogical techniques in severely disabled rats which had been treated with 33.3 mg/kg acrylamide twice a week for 7.5 weeks. There was no lo...

Catecholamine (CA) varicosities have been observed within the dorsal root ganglion and spinal ventral roots of the cat at all spinal levels. There was no apparent change in either appearance or numbers of these CA varicosities following spinal transection or distal spinal root lesion. It is suggested that the source of CA innervation of these areas is sympathetic accompanying transdural blood v...