TY - JOUR
T1 - 17Beta-estradiol counteracts neuropathic pain
T2 - A behavioural, immunohistochemical, and proteomic investigation on sex-related differences in mice
AU - Vacca, Valentina
AU - Marinelli, Sara
AU - Pieroni, Luisa
AU - Urbani, Andrea
AU - Luvisetto, Siro
AU - Pavone, Flaminia
PY - 2016/1/8
Y1 - 2016/1/8
N2 - Sex differences play a role in pain sensitivity, efficacy of analgesic drugs and prevalence of neuropathic pain, even if the underlying mechanisms are far from being understood. We demonstrate that male and female mice react differently to structural and functional changes induced by sciatic nerve ligature, used as model of neuropathic pain. Male mice show a gradual decrease of allodynia and a complete recovery while, in females, allodynia and gliosis are still present four months after neuropathy induction. Administration of 17β-estradiol is able to significantly attenuate this difference, reducing allodynia and inducing a complete recovery also in female mice. Parallel to pain attenuation, 17β-estradiol treated-mice show a functional improvement of the injured limb, a faster regenerative process of the peripheral nerve and a decreased neuropathy-induced gliosis. These results indicate beneficial effects of 17β-estradiol on neuropathic pain and neuronal regeneration and focuses on the importance of considering gonadal hormones also in clinical studies.
AB - Sex differences play a role in pain sensitivity, efficacy of analgesic drugs and prevalence of neuropathic pain, even if the underlying mechanisms are far from being understood. We demonstrate that male and female mice react differently to structural and functional changes induced by sciatic nerve ligature, used as model of neuropathic pain. Male mice show a gradual decrease of allodynia and a complete recovery while, in females, allodynia and gliosis are still present four months after neuropathy induction. Administration of 17β-estradiol is able to significantly attenuate this difference, reducing allodynia and inducing a complete recovery also in female mice. Parallel to pain attenuation, 17β-estradiol treated-mice show a functional improvement of the injured limb, a faster regenerative process of the peripheral nerve and a decreased neuropathy-induced gliosis. These results indicate beneficial effects of 17β-estradiol on neuropathic pain and neuronal regeneration and focuses on the importance of considering gonadal hormones also in clinical studies.
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U2 - 10.1038/srep18980
DO - 10.1038/srep18980
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84953931937
VL - 6
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
M1 - 18980
ER -