Publication details
Dynamic changes of IL-6 mRNA and protein levels in dorsal root ganglia non-associated with unilateral chronic compression injury
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| Year of publication | 2012 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Cytokines are injury-induced inflammatory mediators that contribute to both induction and maintenance of neuropathic pain derived from the changes in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) containing the primary sensory neurons. In our experiments, we used immunofluorescence detection, Western blot analysis and in situ hybridization to demonstrate changes of IL-6 protein and mRNA in both lumbar (L4-L5) and cervical (C7-C8) dorsal root ganglia (DRG) following unilateral chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the rat sciatic nerve. Very low intensity of immunofluorescence staining for IL-6 was found in the small neuronal bodies and satellite glial cells (SGC) surrounding large neurons of both lumbar and cervical DRG from naive rats. Unilateral CCI of the sciatic nerve induced a bilateral elevation of IL-6 immunostaining in most of the neuronal bodies of all sizes in both lumbar and cervical DRG. The increased immunostaining for IL-6 protein in both lumbar and cervical DRG was supported by Western blot analysis. In addition, results of in situ hybridization revealed a higher staining for IL-6 mRNA in lumbar and cervical DRG from both sides. The DRG removed from sham-operated rats displayed similar pattern of IL-6 immunostaining in the neuronal bodies, but with a moderate intensity in SGC. In comparison to naive DRG, a mild staining for IL-6 mRNA was detected in SGC of DRG from sham-operated rats. Bilateral synthesis of IL-6 in DRG of lumbar and cervical segments was essentially confirmed by RT-PCR. In agreement with results of in situ hybridization a strong upregulation of IL-6 mRNAs was detected in cervical DRG remote to nerve injury. The results presented here suggested that a bilateral elevation of IL-6 protein and mRNA is not limited to DRG homonymous to, but is also spread to DRG heteronymous with injured nerve. |
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