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Distinct roles of neuregulin in different models of neuropathic pain

Neurological Sciences volume 35, pages 531–536 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

The objective of the study was to investigate the role of neuregulin–ErbB signaling in neuropathic pain in different types of injury. Neuregulin-1(NRG-1) was injected into animals with either formalin-induced pain model or spared nerve injury (SNI) model. Formalin tests or paw withdrawal tests were performed to study the role of NRG-1 in neuropathic pain. siRNA specific to different erbB receptors were then introduced to test which specific signaling pathway was required for NRG-1 signaling in the different pain models. NRG-1 inhibits neuropathic pain after SNI in a dose-dependent manner, while NRG-1 aggravates formalin-induced neuropathic pain. ErbB2 and erbB4 receptors were activated after neuregulin administration. Knockdown of ErbB2 relieves the aggravation of NRG-1 on formalin-induced neuropathic pain, and knockdown of ErbB4 could relieve the inhibition of NRG-1 on neuropathic pain in the SNI model. NRG-1 has two distinct functions depending on the different receptor activation in different models of neuropathic pain. These novel findings may provide new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of neuropathic pain in different injury types.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, The Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200233, China

    Da-Wei Dai, Xin Chen, Lei Yuan, Ai-Jun Zhang, Peng-Qi Zhang, You-Ming Lu & Zhi-Feng Deng

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai Institute of Neurosurgery, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200003, China

    Zheng Xu

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  1. Da-Wei Dai
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  2. Zheng Xu
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  3. Xin Chen
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  4. Lei Yuan
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  5. Ai-Jun Zhang
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  7. You-Ming Lu
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  8. Zhi-Feng Deng
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Correspondence to Xin Chen.

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Dai, DW., Xu, Z., Chen, X. et al. Distinct roles of neuregulin in different models of neuropathic pain. Neurol Sci 35, 531–536 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-013-1537-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-013-1537-z

Keywords

  • Neuropathic pain
  • Neuregulin
  • ErbB
  • siRNA