| pA2 online © Copyright 2004 The British Pharmacological Society |
054P
University of Newcastle Winter Meeting December 2004 |
Development of neuropathic pain is affected by bedding texture in two models of peripheral nerve injury in rats Ian Robinson1, Elizabeth L. Gallantine1,2, Farhad Kamali1 and Theo F. Meert1. 1School of Clinical and Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical School, University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE2 4HH. 2Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, Turnhoutsweg 30, B-2340 Beerse, Belgium. |
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Print abstractFactors affecting the outcome of in vivo research have been well documented (Chesler et al. 2002; Vissers et al. 2003). These factors can be genetic (e.g. differences between strain and species of animal), circadian rhythms and environmental factors such as group or individual housing, diet, influence of the experimenter etc. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of bedding texture on the development of neuropathic pain symptoms following a chronic constriction injury (CCI) or a partial nerve axotomy (Bennett et al. 1988; Lee et al. 2000).
Male Sprague-Dawley rats (Harlan, Germany) weighing 200-250g at the time of surgery were used. The rats were singly-housed in individually ventilated cages in an environment maintained at 22 ± 1 ° C in a 12 hour light/dark cycle. All experiments were performed during the light phase. Food and water were available ad libitum. Under Iso-fluorine gas anaesthesia, 14 rats received a CCI (in accordance with Bennett et al. 1988) and 14 rats underwent a partial sciatic nerve axotomy (Lee et al. 2000). Seven rats from each surgery group were then randomly housed on fine sawdust (Sterilabo, France) whilst the remaining 7 animals from each group were housed on coarse bedding (Techniplast, Netherlands). All animals were tested post operatively on days 7, 10, 14, 17, 21 and 28 using a range of nociceptive tests such as the Von Frey model, pin prick, the acetone spray tests and the cold plate to assess for mechanical allodynia, mechanical hyperalgesia, chemical hyperreactivity and cold allodynia, respectively.
Most marked difference in outcome was with the pin prick test (shown above), LP rats showed a reduced response. This was also the case with the acetone test. There were no differences with either model in cold plate and Von Frey test showing they are more robust tests. Thus they should be used for comparison of results between labs. Additionally there is a need for standardisation in housing conditions within and between labs.
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