Ebisawa Shigeru, Andoh Tsugunobu, Shimada Yutaka, Kuraishi Yasushi
Department of Japanese Oriental Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
Department of Applied Pharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:870687. doi: 10.1155/2015/870687. Epub 2015 Mar 18.
Neuropathic pain is caused by nerve injury. Yokukansan (Yi-Gan San), a traditional Japanese (Kampo) medicine, has been widely used for neuropathic pain control. However, the analgesic mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the analgesic mechanisms of yokukansan in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. Partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSL) induced mechanical allodynia in mice. Repetitive oral administration of the extracts of yokukansan and the constituent herbal medicine Atractylodis Lanceae Rhizoma, but not Glycyrrhizae Radix, relieved mechanical allodynia in the PSL mice and inhibited the PSL-induced expression of interleukin- (IL-) 6 mRNA in the spinal cord. Yokukansan did not attenuate intrathecal IL-6-induced mechanical allodynia. IL-6 immunoreactivity was detected in microglia and astrocytes in the spinal dorsal horn. These results suggest that yokukansan relieves mechanical allodynia in PSL mice by regulating the expression of IL-6 in astrocytes and/or microglia in the spinal cord. In addition, the components of Atractylodis Lanceae Rhizoma, one of the constituent herbal medicines in yokukansan, may play an important role in the regulation of IL-6 expression and neuropathic pain control.
神经性疼痛由神经损伤引起。日本传统汉方药物抑肝散(Yokukansan,即“抑肝散”)已被广泛用于控制神经性疼痛。然而,其镇痛机制尚不清楚。在本研究中,我们在神经性疼痛小鼠模型中研究了抑肝散的镇痛机制。部分坐骨神经结扎(PSL)诱导小鼠出现机械性异常性疼痛。重复口服抑肝散提取物和其组成草药白术根茎提取物,但甘草提取物无效,可缓解PSL小鼠的机械性异常性疼痛,并抑制PSL诱导的脊髓中白细胞介素-(IL-)6 mRNA的表达。抑肝散并未减轻鞘内注射IL-6诱导的机械性异常性疼痛。在脊髓背角的小胶质细胞和星形胶质细胞中检测到IL-6免疫反应性。这些结果表明,抑肝散通过调节脊髓星形胶质细胞和/或小胶质细胞中IL-6的表达来缓解PSL小鼠的机械性异常性疼痛。此外,抑肝散的组成草药之一白术根茎的成分可能在调节IL-6表达和控制神经性疼痛中发挥重要作用。