Immunocytochemical localization of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 phosphorylated neurons in the brainstem of rat following visceral noxious stimulation

The aim of the present study was to determine the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) 1 and 2 in brainstem neurons following noxious visceral stimulation. Ether and urethane anaesthetized rats received an intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid (ENS, UNS) or were left un...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience letters 2003-10, Vol.349 (3), p.167-170
Main Authors: Gioia, Magda, Moscheni, Claudia, Galbiati, Stefania, Gagliano, Nicoletta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetic Acid
Anesthetics - pharmacology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Stem - cytology
Brain Stem - enzymology
Brainstem
Ether - pharmacology
Extracellular signal-regulated kinases
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Immunohistochemistry
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 - metabolism
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism
Neural Pathways - cytology
Neural Pathways - enzymology
Neurons - cytology
Neurons - enzymology
Nociception
Nociceptors - enzymology
Pain - chemically induced
Pain - enzymology
Pain - physiopathology
Rat
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Signal Transduction - drug effects
Signal Transduction - physiology
Somesthesis and somesthetic pathways (proprioception, exteroception, nociception)
interoception
electrolocation. Sensory receptors
Urethane - pharmacology
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
Visceral Afferents - cytology
Visceral Afferents - enzymology
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Summary:The aim of the present study was to determine the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) 1 and 2 in brainstem neurons following noxious visceral stimulation. Ether and urethane anaesthetized rats received an intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid (ENS, UNS) or were left untreated (ECT, UCT). Paraffin embedded brain sections immunoreacted with an antibody specific for phosphorylated ERKs. In noxious stimulated rats ERKs activated neuron profiles in the periaqueductal gray matter, parabrachial, dorsal raphe, solitary tract nucleus, area postrema and superior colliculus suggest that ERKs activation takes place mainly in brainstem nuclei in which nociception and visceral activities interact. The comparison between ENS and UNS rats shows that the long acting anaesthetic urethane attenuates the number of the ERKs activated neurons compared to the short acting ether.
ISSN:0304-3940
1872-7972
DOI:10.1016/S0304-3940(03)00821-8