Huperzine A Alleviates Mechanical Allodynia but Not Spontaneous Pain via Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Mice

Chronic pain is a major health issue and most patients suffer from spontaneous pain. Previous studies suggest that Huperzine A (Hup A), an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese herb Huperzia serrata, is a potent analgesic with few side effects. However, whether it alleviates spontaneous pain is uncl...

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Main Authors: Zhen-Xing Zuo, Yong-Jie Wang, Li Liu, Yiner Wang, Shu-Hao Mei, Zhi-Hui Feng, Maode Wang, Xiang-Yao Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Neural Plasticity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/453170
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author Zhen-Xing Zuo
Yong-Jie Wang
Li Liu
Yiner Wang
Shu-Hao Mei
Zhi-Hui Feng
Maode Wang
Xiang-Yao Li
author_facet Zhen-Xing Zuo
Yong-Jie Wang
Li Liu
Yiner Wang
Shu-Hao Mei
Zhi-Hui Feng
Maode Wang
Xiang-Yao Li
author_sort Zhen-Xing Zuo
collection DOAJ
description Chronic pain is a major health issue and most patients suffer from spontaneous pain. Previous studies suggest that Huperzine A (Hup A), an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese herb Huperzia serrata, is a potent analgesic with few side effects. However, whether it alleviates spontaneous pain is unclear. We evaluated the effects of Hup A on spontaneous pain in mice using the conditioned place preference (CPP) behavioral assay and found that application of Hup A attenuated the mechanical allodynia induced by peripheral nerve injury or inflammation. This effect was blocked by atropine. However, clonidine but not Hup A induced preference for the drug-paired chamber in CPP. The same effects occurred when Hup A was infused into the anterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, ambenonium chloride, a competitive inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, also increased the paw-withdrawal threshold but failed to induce place preference in CPP. Therefore, our data suggest that acetylcholinesterase in both the peripheral and central nervous systems is involved in the regulation of mechanical allodynia but not the spontaneous pain.
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publishDate 2015-01-01
publisher Wiley
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series Neural Plasticity
spelling doaj-art-ce61ea7ef0054dda9bda037e659a65d82025-08-20T02:19:30ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432015-01-01201510.1155/2015/453170453170Huperzine A Alleviates Mechanical Allodynia but Not Spontaneous Pain via Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in MiceZhen-Xing Zuo0Yong-Jie Wang1Li Liu2Yiner Wang3Shu-Hao Mei4Zhi-Hui Feng5Maode Wang6Xiang-Yao Li7Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, ChinaCenter for Mitochondrial Biology and Medicine, The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology and Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaInstitute of Neuroscience and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, ChinaInstitute of Neuroscience and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, ChinaInstitute of Neuroscience and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, ChinaCenter for Mitochondrial Biology and Medicine, The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology and Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaDepartment of Neurosurgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, ChinaInstitute of Neuroscience and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, ChinaChronic pain is a major health issue and most patients suffer from spontaneous pain. Previous studies suggest that Huperzine A (Hup A), an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese herb Huperzia serrata, is a potent analgesic with few side effects. However, whether it alleviates spontaneous pain is unclear. We evaluated the effects of Hup A on spontaneous pain in mice using the conditioned place preference (CPP) behavioral assay and found that application of Hup A attenuated the mechanical allodynia induced by peripheral nerve injury or inflammation. This effect was blocked by atropine. However, clonidine but not Hup A induced preference for the drug-paired chamber in CPP. The same effects occurred when Hup A was infused into the anterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, ambenonium chloride, a competitive inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, also increased the paw-withdrawal threshold but failed to induce place preference in CPP. Therefore, our data suggest that acetylcholinesterase in both the peripheral and central nervous systems is involved in the regulation of mechanical allodynia but not the spontaneous pain.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/453170
spellingShingle Zhen-Xing Zuo
Yong-Jie Wang
Li Liu
Yiner Wang
Shu-Hao Mei
Zhi-Hui Feng
Maode Wang
Xiang-Yao Li
Huperzine A Alleviates Mechanical Allodynia but Not Spontaneous Pain via Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Mice
Neural Plasticity
title Huperzine A Alleviates Mechanical Allodynia but Not Spontaneous Pain via Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Mice
title_full Huperzine A Alleviates Mechanical Allodynia but Not Spontaneous Pain via Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Mice
title_fullStr Huperzine A Alleviates Mechanical Allodynia but Not Spontaneous Pain via Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Mice
title_full_unstemmed Huperzine A Alleviates Mechanical Allodynia but Not Spontaneous Pain via Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Mice
title_short Huperzine A Alleviates Mechanical Allodynia but Not Spontaneous Pain via Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Mice
title_sort huperzine a alleviates mechanical allodynia but not spontaneous pain via muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in mice
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/453170
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