Peripheral non-opioid analgesic effects of kyotorphin in mice

Bradykinin (BK) given into the plantar (i.pl.) of the mouse hind-limb produced a flexor response. The flexor responses were dependent on BK doses (0.02-20 pmol, i.pl.), and were completely abolished by Hoe140, a B2-type BK receptor antagonist. Kyotorphin, an analgesic neuropeptide which shows enkephalin release in brain slices, produced a dose-dependent reduction of the BK-induced nociceptive responses in ranges of 10 pmol to 1 nmol (i.pl.). Such analgesic effects of kyotorphin were reversed by leucine-arginine, a specific kyotorphin receptor antagonist, but not by naloxone. The kyotorphin-analgesia was also abolished by pertussis toxin (PTX) pretreatment. These results suggest that peripheral analgesic effects of kyotorphin are mediated through mechanisms of kyotorphin specific receptor and PTX-sensitive Gi/Go, and that the enkephalin release is not necessary for this analgesia.