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Updated: Jun 30, 2025

Cheek Injection Model for Simultaneous Measurement of Pain and Itch-related Behaviors
Published on: September 27, 2019
Increased Systemic Levels of Centrally Acting B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Are Associated with Chronic Itch of
Leigh A Nattkemper1, Brian S Kim2, Qai Ven Yap3
1Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, Miami Itch Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA.
Abstract:
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is an itch-selective neuropeptide that was shown to play a role in both histaminergic and nonhistaminergic itch in mice. It was also shown that elevated serum BNP is linked to increased pruritus in nondiabetic hemodialysis patients. This study examined plasma BNP levels of 77 patients and N-terminal pro-BNP levels of 33 patients with differing types of chronic itch to see whether BNP and N-terminal pro-BNP levels can correlate with itch severity. Plasma BNP and N-terminal pro-BNP levels of all patients with itch correlated with itch numerical rating scale and in particular for patients with chronic pruritus of unknown origin. On the basis of this clinical observation, this study further showed that increasing pathophysiological levels of BNP in mice by intravenous or osmotic pump induced significant scratching. In addition, pharmacological and ablation strategies determined that BNP acts centrally by activating the natriuretic peptide receptor A in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. These data support that BNP and N-terminal pro-BNP levels are associated with chronic itch and may be used in clinical setting.
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