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The Sciatic Nerve Cuffing Model of Neuropathic Pain in Mice
Published on: July 16, 2014
Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated 2 (HCN2) ion channels drive pain in mouse models of diabetic
Christoforos Tsantoulas1, Sergio Laínez1, Sara Wong1
1Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London Bridge, London SE1 1UL, UK.
Abstract:
Diabetic patients frequently suffer from continuous pain that is poorly treated by currently available analgesics. We used mouse models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes to investigate a possible role for the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated 2 (HCN2) ion channels as drivers of diabetic pain. Blocking or genetically deleting HCN2 channels in small nociceptive neurons suppressed diabetes-associated mechanical allodynia and prevented neuronal activation of second-order neurons in the spinal cord in mice. In addition, we found that intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), a positive HCN2 modulator, is increased in somatosensory neurons in an animal model of painful diabetes. We propose that the increased intracellular cAMP drives diabetes-associated pain by facilitating HCN2 activation and consequently promoting repetitive firing in primary nociceptive nerve fibers. Our results suggest that HCN2 may be an analgesic target in the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy.
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