Inflammation

, Volume 36, Issue 6, pp 1468–1478 | Cite as

Antihyperalgesic and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Atorvastatin in Chronic Constriction Injury-Induced Neuropathic Pain in Rats

  • Nitya N. Pathak
  • Venkanna Balaganur
  • Madhu C. Lingaraju
  • Amar S. More
  • Vinay Kant
  • Dhirendra Kumar
  • Dinesh Kumar
  • Surendra Kumar Tandan
Article
First Online:

Abstract

Atorvastatin is a 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitor used in treatment of hypercholesterolemia and prevention of coronary heart disease. The aim of this study is to investigate the antihyperalgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of atorvastatin (3, 10, and 30 mg/kg by oral gavages for 14 days) in chronic constriction injury (CCI) model of neuropathic pain in rats. CCI caused significant increase in tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin 1 beta, prostaglandin E2, along with matrix metalloproteases (MMP-2) and nerve growth factor (NGF) levels in sciatic nerve and spinal cord concomitant with mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia, which were significantly reduced by oral administration of atorvastatin for 14 days as compared to CCI rats. Our study demonstrated that atorvastatin attenuates neuropathic pain through inhibition of cytokines, MMP-2, and NGF in sciatic nerve and spinal cord suggesting that atorvastatin could be an additional therapeutic strategy in management of neuropathic pain.

KEY WORDS

CCI neuropathic pain proinflammatory cytokines MMP-2 NGF atorvastatin 

Abbreviations

HMG-CoA

3-Hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A

CCI

Chronic constriction injury

TNF-α

Tumor necrosis factor-α

IL-1β

Interleukin-1 beta

PGE2

Prostaglandin E2

MMP-2

Matrix metalloproteases

NGF

Nerve growth factor

COX-2

Cyclooxygenase-2

ELISA

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

DMSO

Dimethyl sulfoxide

PWT

Paw withdrawal threshold

PWL

Paw withdrawal latencies

DRG

Dorsal root ganglion

CNS

Central nervous system

GFAP

Glial fibrillary acidic protein

SEM

Standard error of means

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  • Nitya N. Pathak
    • 1
  • Venkanna Balaganur
    • 1
  • Madhu C. Lingaraju
    • 1
  • Amar S. More
    • 1
  • Vinay Kant
    • 1
  • Dhirendra Kumar
    • 1
  • Dinesh Kumar
    • 1
  • Surendra Kumar Tandan
    • 1
  1. 1.Division of Pharmacology and ToxicologyIndian Veterinary Research InstituteBareillyIndia

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