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Expression of IL-2 receptor in dorsal root ganglion neurons and peripheral antinociception

P Song1, Z Q Zhao, X Y Liu

  • 1Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Shanghai Institute of Physiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PR China.

Neuroreport
|June 7, 2000
PubMed

Interleukin-2 (IL-2), a T-cell growth factor, could exert an antinociceptive effect. Intraplantar injection of human recombinant IL-2 (rIL-2) at a dose of 10000/20 microl significantly enhanced pain threshold as measured by paw withdrawal latency (PWL) to noxious radiant heat in the rat. Reverse transcription modification of polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed that IL-2R alpha and beta chains were constitutively expressed in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Immunohistochemistry further demonstrated that IL-2R was mainly localized to small and medium-sized neurons, which are predominantly responsible for nociceptive transmission. These observations suggest that IL-2/IL-2R system may affect neural activities including nociceptive processing in DRG.

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