Elsevier

Brain Research

Volume 599, Issue 2, 25 December 1992, Pages 333-337
Brain Research

Histamine-caused itch induces Fos-like immunoreactivity in dorsal horn neurons: effect of morphine pretreatment

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(92)90409-3Get rights and content

Abstract

It is well known that cutaneous pain causes c-fos gene expression in the dorsal horn neurons. The present study examined whether or not an itching sensation had the same effect on these neurons. In order to produce an itching sensation, cotton balls soaked in histamine solutions of different concentrations were applied to the lower limbs of rats and then the treated area was scratched with the tip of a pair of forceps. After 2 h, the number of neurons showing Fos-like immunoreactivity was significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner in the ipsilateral dorsal horn when compared to saline-treated and scratched controls. When scratching with the forceps was omitted, the number of these neurons was reduced to one-third, but was still significantly higher than in controls treated only with saline. Expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity in these animals was markedly reduced by morphine pretreatment (10 mg/kg, i.p.), suggesting that the transmission of both itch and pain is blocked by morphine.

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      Itch is described as an irritating sensation that triggers a desire to scratch, and SP-induced scratching was attenuated by the administration of NK1 receptor antagonists, suggesting that SP and the NK1 receptor may be involved not only in nociceptive processing, but also in pruriceptive processing (Kuraishi et al., 1995; Carstens et al., 2010). An intradermal injection of histamine and serotonin (5-HT, 5-hydroxytriptamine), which are well-known pruritic agents, induced scratching behavior (Yamaguchi et al., 1999; Nojima and Carstens, 2003; Shimada and LaMotte, 2008; Sun et al., 2009; LaMotte et al., 2011) and also enhanced c-Fos expression in the spinal dorsal horn (Yao et al., 1992; Nojima et al., 2003; Nakano et al., 2008). These findings indicated that the induction of scratching behavior and enhancement of c-Fos expression in the spinal cord following the administration of pruritic agents may be valuable tools for identifying pruriceptive processing at the level of the spinal cord.

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    Present address: Department of Anatomy, Wakayama Medical School, 27 Kyuban-cho, Wakayama City, Wakayama 640, Japan.

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