Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
Brain Res Bull. 2012 Sep 1;88(6):581-8. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2012.06.002. Epub 2012 Jun 13.
Inflammatory pain is an important clinical symptom. The levels of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and the levels of cytokines such as interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) play important roles in inflammatory pain. Tanshinone IIA (TIIA) is an important component of Danshen, a traditional Chinese medicine that has been commonly used to treat cardiovascular disease. In this study, we investigated the potential anti-inflammatory nociceptive effects of TIIA on complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammation and inflammatory pain in rats.
The effects of TIIA on CFA-induced thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity were investigated using behavioral tests. The levels of ERKs, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) in the fifth segment of the lumbar spinal cord (L5) ganglia were detected by Western blot, and the levels of mRNA and protein production of IL1-β, IL-6 and TNF-α were detected by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA).
In this study, we found that TIIA attenuates the development of CFA-induced mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity. In addition, p-ERK and NF-κB expression levels were inhibited by TIIA, and the levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were reduced. Finally, we found that the expression level of TRPV1 was significantly decreased after TIIA injection.
This study demonstrated that TIIA has significant anti-nociceptive effects in a rat model of CFA-induced inflammatory pain. TIIA can inhibit the activation of ERK signaling pathways and the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These results suggest that TIIA may be a potential anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive drug.
炎症性疼痛是一种重要的临床症状。细胞外信号调节激酶（ERK）的水平和白细胞介素 1β（IL-1β）、白细胞介素 6（IL-6）和肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）等细胞因子的水平在炎症性疼痛中起着重要作用。丹参酮 IIA（TIIA）是丹参的一种重要成分，丹参是一种常用于治疗心血管疾病的中药。在这项研究中，我们研究了 TIIA 对完全弗氏佐剂（CFA）诱导的炎症和炎症性疼痛大鼠的潜在抗炎镇痛作用。
采用行为学测试研究 TIIA 对 CFA 诱导的热和机械性超敏反应的影响。通过 Western blot 检测 L5 脊神经节中 ERK、核因子 kappa 轻链增强子的活化 B 细胞（NF-κB）和瞬时受体电位香草酸 1（TRPV1）的水平，通过实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）和酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测 IL1-β、IL-6 和 TNF-α的 mRNA 和蛋白产物的水平。
本研究发现 TIIA 可减轻 CFA 诱导的机械和热敏感性的发展。此外，TIIA 抑制 p-ERK 和 NF-κB 表达水平，降低促炎细胞因子 IL-1β、IL-6 和 TNF-α的水平。最后，我们发现 TIIA 注射后 TRPV1 的表达水平显著降低。
本研究表明 TIIA 对 CFA 诱导的炎症性疼痛大鼠模型具有显著的镇痛作用。TIIA 可抑制 ERK 信号通路的激活和促炎细胞因子的表达。这些结果表明 TIIA 可能是一种有潜力的抗炎和镇痛药物。
