OBJECTIVE This study is to investigate the role of Mas-related gene (Mrg) C in the pathogenesis and treatment of bone cancer pain (BCP). METHODS BCP mouse model was established by osteosarcoma cell inoculation. Pain-related behaviors were assessed with the spontaneous lifting behavior test and mechanical allodynia test. Expression levels of MrgC, Gi, and NR2B in the spinal cord were detected ...

The structural basis for partial agonism at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors is currently unresolved. We have characterized several partial agonists at the NR1/NR2B receptor and investigated the mechanisms underlying their reduced efficacy by introducing mutations in the glutamate binding site. Key residues were selected for mutation based on ligand-protein docking studies using a homology...

The midbrain periaqueductal grey (PAG) is a structure known for its roles in pain transmission and modulation. Noxious stimuli potentiate the glutamate synaptic transmission and enhance glutamate NMDA receptor expression in the PAG. However, little is known about roles of NMDA receptor subunits in the PAG in processing the persistent inflammatory pain. The present study was undertaken to invest...

We examined synaptic plasticity in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus in vitro in juvenile C57Bl6 mice (28-40 days of age), housed in control conditions with minimal enrichment (Controls) or with access to an exercise wheel (Runners). LTP expression was significantly greater in slices from Runners than in those from Controls, but could be blocked by APV in both groups. LTP was significan...

BACKGROUND Hyperalgesia and neuroinflammation are associated with glia, which consists of macroglia and microglia. In this study, we used a selective cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) agonist JWH015 to investigate remifentanil-induced postoperative hyperalgesia. METHODS Mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia after postoperative hyperalgesia and intrathecal injection of JWH015 were asse...

Synapses onto dendritic spines in the lateral amygdala formed by afferents from the auditory thalamus represent a site of plasticity in Pavlovian fear conditioning. Previous work has demonstrated that thalamic afferents synapse onto LA spines expressing glutamate receptor (GluR) subunits, but the GluR subunit distribution at the synapse and within the cytoplasm has not been characterized. There...

We determined mRNA expression of the ionotropic glutamate receptors NMDA (NR1, NR2A and NR2B subunits), AMPA (GluR2 subunit) and kainate (GluR6 subunit), as well as of the glutamate transporters GLAST and GLT1 in cerebral cortex and striatum of wild type (WT) and glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase deficient (Gchh-/-) mice aged 7, 30 and 60 days. The protein expression levels of some of these membrane p...

of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Hyper-activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NRs) is associated with excitotoxic cell death during secondary injury following traumatic brain injury (TBI). The efficiency of the NR is dependent on the location of receptors in membrane raft microdomains that provide a platform for coupling of NRs and effector proteins. In many neurodegenerativ...

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NRs) are a group of ionotropic glutamate receptors in the brain and they are composed of heteromeric subunits (NR1, NR2A-D and NR3). In the neostriatum, a brain region that is associated with movement in animals, NMDA channels are known to involve in the motor control. Our previous report (Lai et al., 2000, Neuroscience 98, 493-500) has shown that a single dose o...

BACKGROUND The NMDA receptor represents a particularly important site of ethanol action in the CNS. We recently reported that NMDA receptor 2B (NR2B) gene expression was persistently up-regulated following chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) treatment. Increasing evidence that epigenetic mechanisms are involved in dynamic and long-lasting regulation of gene expression in multiple neuroadaptive p...