2. Academic Validation
  3. Electroacupuncture Alleviates Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Neuropathic Pain via the TRPV1-Mediated CaMKII/CREB Pathway in Rats

Electroacupuncture Alleviates Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Neuropathic Pain via the TRPV1-Mediated CaMKII/CREB Pathway in Rats

  • J Mol Neurosci. 2024 Aug 20;74(3):79. doi: 10.1007/s12031-024-02256-w.
Yinmu Zheng # 1 2,  Siyi Li # 1 2,  Yurong Kang 1 2,  Qunqi Hu 1 2,  Yu Zheng 1 2,  Xiaoxiang Wang 2,  Hengyu Chi 2,  Keying Guo 2,  Minjian Jiang 1 2,  Zhouyuan Wei 1 2,  Xiaomei Shao 1 2,  Chi Xu 1 2,  Boyu Liu 1 2,  Junying Du 1 2,  Xiaofen He 1 2,  Jianqiao Fang 1 2,  Zhenzhong Lu 3,  Yongliang Jiang 4 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
  • 2 The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
  • 3 Jinhua Wenrong Hospital, Jinhua, China. m2mandbsb@163.com.
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China. 20111019@zcmu.edu.cn.
  • 5 The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China. 20111019@zcmu.edu.cn.
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 39162890 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-024-02256-w
Abstract

Diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) is a diabetic complication that causes severe pain and deeply impacts the quality of the sufferer's daily life. Currently, contemporary clinical treatments for DNP generally exhibit a deficiency in effectiveness. Electroacupuncture (EA) is recognized as a highly effective and safe treatment for DNP with few side effects. Regrettably, the processes via which EA alleviates DNP are still poorly characterized. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and phosphorylated calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (p-CaMKII) are overexpressed on spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH) in DNP rats, and co-localization is observed between them. Capsazepine, a TRPV1 antagonist, effectively reduced nociceptive hypersensitivity and downregulated the overexpression of phosphorylated CaMKIIα in rats with DNP. Conversely, the CaMKII inhibitor KN-93 did not have any impact on TRPV1. EA alleviated heightened sensitivity to pain caused by nociceptive stimuli and downregulated the level of TRPV1, p-CaMKIIα, and phosphorylated cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (p-CREB) in DNP rats. Intrathecal injection of capsaicin, on the other hand, reversed the above effects of EA. These findings indicated that the CaMKII/CREB pathway on SCDH is located downstream of TRPV1 and is affected by TRPV1. EA alleviates DNP through the TRPV1-mediated CaMKII/CREB pathway.

Keywords

CaMKII/CREB pathway; Capsaicin; Capsazepine; Diabetic neuropathic pain; KN-93; TRPV1.

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