Suppression of pancreatitis-related allodynia/hyperalgesia by proteinase-activated receptor-2 in mice

1 Proteinase-activated receptor-2 (PAR2), a receptor activated by trypsin and tryptase, is abundantly expressed in the gastrointestinal tract including the C-fiber terminal, and might play a role in processing of visceral pain. In the present study, we examined and characterized the roles of PAR2 in pancreatitis-related abdominal hyperalgesia/allodynia in mice. 2 Caerulein, administered i.p. once, caused a small increase in abdominal sensitivity to stimulation with von Frey hairs, without causing pancreatitis, in PAR2-knockout (KO) mice, but not wild-type (WT) mice. 3 Caerulein, given hourly six times in total, caused more profound abdominal hyperalgesia/allodynia in PAR2-KO mice, as compared with WT mice, although no significant differences were detected in the severity of pancreatitis between the KO and WT animals. 4 The PAR2-activating peptide, 2-furoyl-LIGRL-NH(2), coadministered repeatedly with caerulein six times in total, abolished the caerulein-evoked abdominal hyperalgesia/allodynia in WT, but not PAR2-KO, mice. Repeated doses of 2-furoyl-LIGRL-NH(2) moderately attenuated the severity of caerulein-induced pancreatitis in WT animals. 5 Our data from experiments using PAR2-KO mice provide evidence that PAR2 functions to attenuate pancreatitis-related abdominal hyperalgesia/allodynia without affecting pancreatitis itself, although the PAR2AP applied exogenously is not only antinociceptive but also anti-inflammatory.