Effect of modulating the pathway from the medial prefrontal cortex to the thalamic paraventricular nucleus on pain transmission in mice

ZHU Ke-Hua; WU Feng-Ling; SUN Han-Xue; HONG Jie; CHEN Si-Hai; SHI Juan; LI Yun-Qing

doi:10.16098/j.issn.0529-1356.2024.04.008

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Acta Anatomica Sinica ›› 2024, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (4) : 430-436. DOI: 10.16098/j.issn.0529-1356.2024.04.008

Effect of modulating the pathway from the medial prefrontal cortex to the thalamic paraventricular nucleus on pain transmission in mice

ZHU Ke-hua^1,2 WU Feng-ling²SUN Han-xue²HONG Jie² CHEN Si-hai²SHI Juan^2* LI Yun-qing^2*

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Abstract

Objective To explore the neuronal properties of the pathway from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to the paraventricular thalamic nucleus of (PVT) and to investigate the effect of modulation of the pathway on physiological pain and acute pain in mice. Methods CTb was injected into the PVT of GAD67-GFP transgenic mice, and the properties of mPFC neurons projected to PVT were observed. The mPFC-PVT pathway was activated or inhibited by chemogenetics to observe the effects on physiological pain, such as mechanical pain, thermal pain, cold pain, and on capsaicin induced inflammatory pain. Results CTB-labeled neurons in the mPFC were mainly distributed in layer V and layer VI, and were not double-labeled with GAD67-GFP. Chemogenetic activation of the mPFC-PVT pathway significantly decreased the mechanical pain threshold (p < 0.0001) and shortened the thermal pain latency (p < 0.001), but had no obvious effects on cold pain. Inhibition of this pathway significantly increased the mechanical pain threshold (p < 0.05). Activation of the pathway increased the paw licking time (p < 0.05) in acute inflammatory pain induced by intraplantar injection of capsaicin. Conclusion mPFC-PVT pathway is a non GABAergic projection and its activation can promote mechanical pain, thermal pain, and acute inflammatory pain in mice.

Key words

Medial prefrontal cortex / Thalamic paraventricular nucleus / Physiological pain / Acute inflammatory pain / Chemogenetics / Mouse

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ZHU Ke-hua WU Feng-ling SUN Han-xue HONG Jie CHEN Si-hai SHI Juan LI Yun-qing. Effect of modulating the pathway from the medial prefrontal cortex to the thalamic paraventricular nucleus on pain transmission in mice[J]. Acta Anatomica Sinica. 2024, 55(4): 430-436 https://doi.org/10.16098/j.issn.0529-1356.2024.04.008

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