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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

The Sciatic Nerve Cuffing Model of Neuropathic Pain in Mice
Published on: July 16, 2014
Non-pharmacological treatment affects neuropeptide expression in neuropathic pain model
Fabio Martinez Santos1, Joyce Teixeira Silva2, Igor Rafael Correia Rocha3
1Department of Anatomy, Laboratory of Functional Neuroanatomy of Pain, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Department of Health Sciences, University Nove de Julho, SP, Brazil.
Abstract:
Chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve elicits changes in neuropeptide expression on the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). The neural mobilization (NM) technique is a noninvasive method that has been proven clinically effective in reducing pain. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of substance P, transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and opioid receptors in the DRG of rats with chronic constriction injury and to compare it to animals that received NM treatment. CCI was performed on adult male rats. Each animal was submitted to 10 sessions of neural mobilization every other day, starting 14 days after the CCI injury. At the end of the sessions, the DRG (L4-L6) were analyzed using Western blot assays for substance P, TRPV1 and opioid receptors (µ-opioid receptor, δ-opioid receptor and κ-opioid receptor). We observed a decreased substance P and TRPV1 expression (48% and 35%, respectively) and an important increase of µ-opioid receptor expression (200%) in the DRG after NM treatment compared to control animals. The data provide evidence that NM promotes substantial changes in neuropeptide expression in the DRG; these results may provide new options for treating neuropathic pain.
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