PMID- 17915276
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20080326
LR  - 20131121
IS  - 0041-0101 (Print)
IS  - 0041-0101 (Linking)
VI  - 51
IP  - 1
DP  - 2008 Jan
TI  - Inhibitory effect of crotoxin on the pain-evoked discharge of neurons in thalamic 
      parafascicular nucleus in rats.
PG  - 102-11
AB  - Crotoxin (Cro), the principal neurotoxic component of Crotalus durissus 
      terrificus, has been previously reported to have a behavioral analgesic effect in 
      rats and mice. The present study investigated electrophysiologically the effect 
      of Cro on pain-evoked unit discharge of neurons in thalamic parafascicular 
      nucleus (Pf) and underlying mechanisms of its effect. The electrical discharge of 
      Pf neurons was recorded with the microelectrode technique in rats. 
      Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of Cro at 0.25, 0.45 and 0.65 
      microg/kg resulted in a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the pain-evoked 
      discharge of Pf neurons. The discharge frequency and the discharge duration 
      significantly (P<0.05) decreased after Cro administration. This inhibitory effect 
      was significantly (P<0.05) attenuated after pretreatment with 
      para-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA), or electrolytic lesion of dorsal raphe (DR) 
      nucleus. In contrast, i.c.v. injection of atropine (muscarinic receptor 
      antagonist, 5 microg) or naloxone (opioid receptor antagonist, 4 microg) had no 
      effect on Cro-induced inhibition of discharge of Pf neurons. The results 
      suggested that Cro has an analgesic effect, which is mediated, at least 
      partially, by the central serotonergic system.
FAU - Zhu, Qi
AU  - Zhu Q
AD  - Department of Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Soochow University, Ren-Ai Road, 
      Dushu Lake Campus, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou 215123, PR China.
FAU - Wu, Dian-Chen
AU  - Wu DC
FAU - Zhou, Xi-Ping
AU  - Zhou XP
FAU - Gong, Shan
AU  - Gong S
FAU - Cheng, Bo-Chao
AU  - Cheng BC
FAU - Qin, Zheng-Hong
AU  - Qin ZH
FAU - Reid, Paul F
AU  - Reid PF
FAU - Yin, Qi-Zhang
AU  - Yin QZ
FAU - Jiang, Xing-Hong
AU  - Jiang XH
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20070902
PL  - England
TA  - Toxicon
JT  - Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology
JID - 1307333
RN  - 0 (Analgesics)
RN  - 0 (Narcotic Antagonists)
RN  - 0 (Parasympatholytics)
RN  - 36B82AMQ7N (Naloxone)
RN  - 7C0697DR9I (Atropine)
RN  - 9007-40-3 (Crotoxin)
SB  - IM
MH  - Analgesics/pharmacology
MH  - Animals
MH  - Atropine/pharmacology
MH  - Crotoxin/*pharmacology
MH  - Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
MH  - Intralaminar Thalamic Nuclei/*cytology/*drug effects/physiology
MH  - Male
MH  - Naloxone/pharmacology
MH  - Narcotic Antagonists/pharmacology
MH  - Neurons/*drug effects/metabolism
MH  - Pain/*drug therapy/*physiopathology
MH  - Parasympatholytics/pharmacology
MH  - Rats
MH  - Rats, Wistar
MH  - Time Factors
EDAT- 2007/10/05 09:00
MHDA- 2008/03/28 09:00
CRDT- 2007/10/05 09:00
PHST- 2007/05/11 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2007/08/22 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2007/08/27 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2007/10/05 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2008/03/28 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2007/10/05 09:00 [entrez]
AID - S0041-0101(07)00314-5 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.toxicon.2007.08.009 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Toxicon. 2008 Jan;51(1):102-11. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2007.08.009. Epub 2007 Sep 
      2.