Brief communicationChronic catheterization of the spinal subarachnoid space
Abstract
To administer drugs into the spinal subarachnoid space of unanesthetized and intact rats and rabbits, a procedure is described whereby a polyethylene catheter (PE-10) may be inserted through a puncture of the atlanto-occipital membrane and secured to the skull. Calibration experiments carried out with bromophenol blue dye, 3H-naloxone and 14C-urea revealed first, that there was little rostro-caudal diffusion of the injectate along the spinal axis and secondly, that even for compounds such as naloxone which can rapidly permeate neural tissues, the levels which do appear in the brain are small following the spinal subarachnoid administration of the drug. Control injections, administered either acutely or repeatedly over a prolonged period of time, had no detectable effect on the animal's behavior. These observations, as well as the lack of pathology in the spinal cords of rats having such catheters for periods of up to 4 months suggests that the implant is well tolerated.
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Refinement of intrathecal catheter design to enhance neuraxial distribution
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We addressed these issues by designing a new catheter that includes micro-valves
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Micro-valves distributed along the catheter open simultaneously upon adequate local transmural pressure, which is evenly distributed along the catheter fluid column.
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Buildup of transmural pressure, prior to microvalve opening, results in increased solute exit velocity.
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Micro-valves are closed when not in use, preventing anything from entering the system, and allowing for long-term intermittent use.
High speed imaging showed micro-valve catheters greatly increase fluid exit velocities compared to typical open-ended catheters, which prevents pooling of injectate proximal to the opening. When implanted intrathecally in rats, small injection volumes (7.5 μL) of dye or AAV9-RFP, resulted in an even rostro-caudal distribution along the spinal axis and robust transfection of neurons from cervical to lumbar dorsal root ganglia. In contrast, such injections with an open-ended catheter resulted in localized distribution and transfection proximal to the delivery site.
Our poly micro-valve catheter design resulted in equivalent transfection rates of cervical DRG neurons using 100x lower titer of AAV9-RFP. Unlike open port catheters, no debris accumulation was observed in the lumen of implanted catheters, showing potential for long-term intermittent use.
This catheter platform, suitable for small animal models is easily scalable for human use and addresses many of the problems observed with common catheter systems.
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Activation of mitochondrial DNA-mediated cGAS-STING pathway contributes to chronic postsurgical pain by inducing type I interferons and A1 reactive astrocytes in the spinal cord
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Pharmacological inhibition of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway suppresses microglial M1-polarization in the spinal cord and attenuates neuropathic pain
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FGF 10 Inhibited Spinal Microglial Activation in Neuropathic Pain via PPAR-γ/NF-κB Signaling
2022, NeuroscienceOveractivated microglia in the spinal cord leads to neuropathic pain sensitivity. The FGF 10, a Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGFs) that is prevalent in neurons, has been demonstrated to suppress microglial polarization. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of FGF 10 in neuropathic pain and the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Immunofluorescence staining and western blot detection revealed that FGF 10 expression was upregulated in the ipsilateral spinal dorsal horn of Spared Nerve Injury (SNI) rat models and was mainly detected in neurons and microglia. To test the anti-microgliosis actions of FGF 10, SNI rats were intrathecally administered with different concentrations of recombinant FGF 10. Behavioral tests and immunostaining results showed that FGF 10 relieved hyperalgesia in SNI rats and inhibited microglial activity in the ipsilateral spinal dorsal horn in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, BV2 cells were cultured and treated with LPS to activate microglia to explore the underlying mechanisms of FGF 10-induced analgesic effects in vitro. As a result, FGF 10 administration suppressed the LPS-induced microglial augmentation in a dose-dependent manner, followed by increased PPAR-γ and decreased NFκB phosphorylation (p-NFκB) levels. Moreover, PPAR-γ agonist (pioglitazone) and antagonist (GW9662) were administrated into spinal cords of SNI rats, revealing that pioglitazone had similar anti-nociceptive and anti-microglial effects to FGF 10. Conversely, GW9662 reversed all beneficial effects of FGF 10 on SNI rats. In addition, phosphorylated levels of NFκB were reduced by pioglitazone or FGF 10 treatment but raised by GW9662 administration in FGF 10-treated SNI rats. Our findings show that FGF 10 has analgesic effects in rats after peripheral nerve injury and justify the role of PPAR-γ/NFκB signaling in FGF 10-regulated anti-microgliosis.
Neuronal alarmin IL-1α evokes astrocyte-mediated protective signals: Effectiveness in chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain
2022, Neurobiology of DiseaseThe distinction between glial painful and protective pathways is unclear and the possibility to finely modulate the system is lacking. Focusing on painful neuropathies, we studied the role of interleukin 1α (IL-1α), an alarmin belonging to the larger family of damage-associated molecular patterns endogenously secreted to restore homeostasis.
The treatment of rat primary neurons with increasing doses of the neurotoxic anticancer drug oxaliplatin (0.3–100 μM, 48 h) induced the release of IL-1α. The knockdown of the alarmin in neurons leads to their higher mortality when co-cultured with astrocytes. This toxicity was related to increased extracellular ATP and decreased release of transforming growth factor β1, mostly produced by astrocytes.
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Estrogen can abolish oxytocin-induced spinal anti-hyperalgesia
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