Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.7.6 (RNA polymerase)
 34,946 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Recently, there has been a growing interest in long-term consequences of neonatal pain because modern neonatal intensive care units routinely employ procedures that cause considerable pain and may be followed by local inflammation and hyperalgesia lasting for several hours or even days. To address this question, we developed a rat model of short lasting (<2 days) early local inflammatory insult produced by a single injection of 0.25% carrageenan (CAR) into the plantar surface of a hindpaw. Previously, we demonstrated that rats receiving this treatment within the first week after birth grow into adults with a global reduction in responsiveness to acute pain. Here, we report that these animals also manifest a low anxiety trait associated with reduced emotional responsiveness to stress. This conclusion is based in the following observations: (a) rats in our model display reduced anxiety on an elevated plus-maze; (b) in the forced swim test, these rats exhibit behavioral characteristics associated with stronger ability for stress coping; and (c) these animals have reduced basal and stress-induced plasma levels of such stress-related neuroendocrine markers as corticotropin-releasing factor, vasopressin, and adrenocorticotrophic hormone. In addition, we used DNA microarray and real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to profile long-term changes in gene expression in the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG; a region involved in both stress and pain modulation) in our animal model. Among the affected genes, serotonergic receptors were particularly well represented. Specifically, we detected increase in the expression of 5-HT1A, 5-HT1D, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C and 5-HT4 receptors. Several of these receptors are known to be involved in the anxiolytic and analgesic activity of the PAG. Finally, to determine whether neonatal inflammatory insult induces elevation in maternal care, which may play a role in generating long-term behavioral alterations seen in our model, we examined maternal behavior for 3 days following CAR injection. Indeed, we observed a substantial increase in maternal attention to the pups at the time of inflammation, but this increase was not without its cost: a period of significant maternal neglect afterward.
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PMID:Alterations in stress-associated behaviors and neurochemical markers in adult rats after neonatal short-lasting local inflammatory insult. 1573 Aug 69

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) controls protein translation and has an important role in the mechanism of pain hypersensitivity under persistent pain conditions. However, its expression and localization in pain-related regions of the nervous system is not completely understood. Here, we examined the expression and distribution of mTOR, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein1/2 (4E-BP1/2), p70 ribosomal S6 protein kinase (p70S6K), and their phosphorylated (active) counterparts in two major pain-related regions, the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord dorsal horn. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction showed that mTOR, 4E-BP1, and p70S6K mRNA are expressed in the DRG and dorsal horn. Western blot analysis further confirmed the existence of their protein products in these two regions, but expression of their phosphorylated counterparts was very low in dorsal horn and was not detected in the DRG. Immunohistochemistry revealed mTOR and p70S6K in the DRG neurons. Quantitative analysis showed that approximately 26.1% (+/- 3.2%) of DRG neurons were positive for mTOR and 19.1% (+/- 1.9%) were positive for p70S6K. Most of these neurons were small-less than 600 microm(2) in cross-sectional area-and some co-labeled with substance P or isolectin B4. Surprisingly, 4E-BP1 was observed only in the DRG satellite glial cells. In the dorsal horn, mTOR, p70S6K, and 4E-BP1 were detected in neurons, but not in astrocytes or microglia. They were distributed in the whole dorsal horn, especially in the superficial dorsal horn. Immunostaining for their phosphorylated counterparts was very low or undetectable in DRG and dorsal horn. Behavioral study showed that intrathecal mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, did not affect acute nocicepetive transmission. The results indicate that although mTOR, p70S6K, and 4E-BP1 are highly expressed in the DRG and dorsal horn, their activate forms are very low in both regions under normal conditions. Our findings support the view that mTOR and its downstream effectors do not play a key role in acute pain.
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PMID:Expression and distribution of mTOR, p70S6K, 4E-BP1, and their phosphorylated counterparts in rat dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord dorsal horn. 2039 60