A behavioral and pharmacological validation of the acetone spray test in gerbils with a chronic constriction injury

Cold and mechanical allodynia are important symptoms in patients with neuropathic pain. The study of cold allodynia in animals can help us to understand the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of neuropathic pain and to validate drugs. The evaluation of cold allodynia in gerbils with a chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve on the cold plate is not always stable. We developed a new application method of acetone using a specific spray technique with an Eppendorf multistepper pipette. The chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve in gerbils resulted in a long-lasting mechanical and acetone spray-induced hyperreactivity throughout the testing period, which is clearly different from what was seen in sham-operated animals. The acetone spray test incorporates a multimodal stimulus different from direct cold stimulation. The reactivity to the acetone spray coincides in time and strength with the reactivity observed in mechanical allodynia in gerbils and with mechanical and thermal allodynia in other species. Furthermore, a pharmacological validation of the acetone spray test by different reference compounds was performed. Different compounds effective in neuropathic pain models in rodents influence the hyperreactivity to the acetone spray after acute and chronic administration. This study indicates that the multimodal acetone spray test is a valuable tool in the study of neuropathic pain in rodents.

The acetone spray test is a multimodal and valuable tool in the evaluation of neuropathic pain behavior in gerbils.