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Updated: May 7, 2026
Cheek Injection Model for Simultaneous Measurement of Pain and Itch-related Behaviors
Published on: September 27, 2019
A single dose of interleukin-31 (IL-31) causes continuous itch-associated scratching behaviour in mice
Iwao Arai1, Minoru Tsuji, Hiroshi Takeda
1Division of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, International University of Health and Welfare, Ohtawara, Japan; Department of Molecular Immunology, Institute of DNA medicine, Jikei University, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
We investigated the effects of a single dose of mouse interleukin-31 (IL-31) on scratching behaviour in comparison with spontaneous skin-lesion- or serotonin (5-HT)- induced scratching behaviour in NC/Nga and BALB/c mice. Intradermal (i.d.) injection of IL-31 caused a gradual increase in long-lasting scratching (LLS, over 1.5 s) about 3 h after administration followed by a gradual decrease for over 24 h after administration. I.d. injection of IL-31 significantly increased the total LLS counts/24 h but not short-lasting scratching (SLS, 0.3-1.5 s). In skin-lesioned NC/Nga mice, the LLS but not SLS counts were significantly higher than those in non-skin-lesioned NC/Nga mice. We also investigated 5-HT-induced scratching in BALB/c mice, SLS but not LLS increased immediately after the injection and then decreased to baseline after at 20 min. These results suggest that IL-31 may participate in the sensation of itching and promote scratching behaviour in skin-lesioned NC/Nga mice, an animal model of atopic dermatitis (AD).
