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Wang L, Liu X, Zhu C, Wu S, Li Z, Jing L, Zhang Z, Jing Y, Wang Y. Environmental enrichment alleviates hyperalgesia by modulating central sensitization in a nitroglycerin-induced chronic migraine model of mice. J Headache Pain 2024; 25:74. [PMID: 38724948 PMCID: PMC11083806 DOI: 10.1186/s10194-024-01779-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chronic migraine (CM) is a debilitating neurofunctional disorder primarily affecting females, characterized by central sensitization. Central sensitization refers to the enhanced response to sensory stimulation, which involves changes in neuronal excitability, synaptic plasticity, and neurotransmitter release. Environmental enrichment (EE) can increase the movement, exploration, socialization and other behaviors of mice. EE has shown promising effects in various neurological disorders, but its impact on CM and the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether EE has the potential to serve as a cost-effective intervention strategy for CM. METHODS A mouse CM model was successfully established by repeated administration of nitroglycerin (NTG). We selected adult female mice around 8 weeks old, exposed them to EE for 2 months, and then induced the CM model. Nociceptive threshold tests were measured using Von Frey filaments and a hot plate. The expression of c-Fos, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and inflammatory response were measured using WB and immunofluorescence to evaluate central sensitization. RNA sequencing was used to find differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways. Finally, the expression of the target differential gene was investigated. RESULTS Repeated administration of NTG can induce hyperalgesia in female mice and increase the expression of c-Fos and CGRP in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC). Early exposure of mice to EE reduced NTG-induced hyperalgesia in CM mice. WB and immunofluorescence revealed that EE inhibited the overexpression of c-Fos and CGRP in the TNC of CM mice and alleviated the inflammatory response of microglia activation. RNA sequencing analysis identified that several central sensitization-related signaling pathways were altered by EE. VGluT1, a key gene involved in behavior, internal stimulus response, and ion channel activity, was found to be downregulated in mice exposed to EE. CONCLUSION EE can significantly ameliorate hyperalgesia in the NTG-induced CM model. The mechanisms may be to modulate central sensitization by reducing the expression of CGRP, attenuating the inflammatory response, and downregulating the expression of VGluT1, etc., suggesting that EE can serve as an effective preventive strategy for CM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Wang
- Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Gate, No. 82 Linxia Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Xiaoming Liu
- Institute of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, No. 222 Tianshui South Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Chenlu Zhu
- Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Gate, No. 82 Linxia Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Shouyi Wu
- Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Gate, No. 82 Linxia Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Zhilei Li
- Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Gate, No. 82 Linxia Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Lipeng Jing
- Institute of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, No. 222 Tianshui South Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Zhenchang Zhang
- Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Gate, No. 82 Linxia Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Yuhong Jing
- Institute of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Neuroscience, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, No. 222 Tianshui South Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
| | - Yonggang Wang
- Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Gate, No. 82 Linxia Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
- Headache Center, Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.
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Sant'Anna MB, Kimura LF, Vieira WF, Zambelli VO, Novaes LS, Hösch NG, Picolo G. Environmental factors and their impact on chronic pain development and maintenance. Phys Life Rev 2024; 48:176-197. [PMID: 38320380 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
It is more than recognized and accepted that the environment affects the physiological responses of all living things, from bacteria to superior vertebrates, constituting an important factor in the evolution of all species. Environmental influences range from natural processes such as sunlight, seasons of the year, and rest to complex processes like stress and other mood disorders, infections, and air pollution, being all of them influenced by how each creature deals with them. In this chapter, it will be discussed how some of the environmental elements affect directly or indirectly neuropathic pain, a type of chronic pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. For that, it was considered the edge of knowledge in translational research, thus including data from human and experimental animals as well as the applicability of such findings.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Louise Faggionato Kimura
- Laboratory of Pain and Signaling, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Willians Fernando Vieira
- Laboratory of Functional Neuroanatomy of Pain, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Leonardo Santana Novaes
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Gisele Picolo
- Laboratory of Pain and Signaling, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil.
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Biskupiak Z, Ha VV, Rohaj A, Bulaj G. Digital Therapeutics for Improving Effectiveness of Pharmaceutical Drugs and Biological Products: Preclinical and Clinical Studies Supporting Development of Drug + Digital Combination Therapies for Chronic Diseases. J Clin Med 2024; 13:403. [PMID: 38256537 PMCID: PMC10816409 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13020403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Limitations of pharmaceutical drugs and biologics for chronic diseases (e.g., medication non-adherence, adverse effects, toxicity, or inadequate efficacy) can be mitigated by mobile medical apps, known as digital therapeutics (DTx). Authorization of adjunct DTx by the US Food and Drug Administration and draft guidelines on "prescription drug use-related software" illustrate opportunities to create drug + digital combination therapies, ultimately leading towards drug-device combination products (DTx has a status of medical devices). Digital interventions (mobile, web-based, virtual reality, and video game applications) demonstrate clinically meaningful benefits for people living with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy, depression, and anxiety. In the respective animal disease models, preclinical studies on environmental enrichment and other non-pharmacological modalities (physical activity, social interactions, learning, and music) as surrogates for DTx "active ingredients" also show improved outcomes. In this narrative review, we discuss how drug + digital combination therapies can impact translational research, drug discovery and development, generic drug repurposing, and gene therapies. Market-driven incentives to create drug-device combination products are illustrated by Humira® (adalimumab) facing a "patent-cliff" competition with cheaper and more effective biosimilars seamlessly integrated with DTx. In conclusion, pharma and biotech companies, patients, and healthcare professionals will benefit from accelerating integration of digital interventions with pharmacotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zack Biskupiak
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Victor Vinh Ha
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Aarushi Rohaj
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- The Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84113, USA
| | - Grzegorz Bulaj
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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Falkowska M, Ntamati NR, Nevian NE, Nevian T, Acuña MA. Environmental enrichment promotes resilience to neuropathic pain-induced depression and correlates with decreased excitability of the anterior cingulate cortex. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1139205. [PMID: 37008999 PMCID: PMC10060563 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1139205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Depression is a common comorbidity of chronic pain with many patients being affected. However, efficient pharmacological treatment strategies are still lacking. Therefore, it is desirable to find additional alternative approaches. Environmental enrichment has been suggested as a method to alleviate pain-induced depression. However, the neuronal mechanisms of its beneficial effects are still elusive. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a central role in processing pain-related negative affect and chronic pain-induced plasticity in this region correlates with depressive symptoms. We studied the consequences of different durations of environmental enrichment on pain sensitivity and chronic pain-induced depression-like behaviors in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. Furthermore, we correlated the behavioral outcomes to the activity levels of pyramidal neurons in the ACC by analyzing their electrophysiological properties ex vivo. We found that early exposure to an enriched environment alone was not sufficient to cause resilience against pain-induced depression-like symptoms. However, extending the enrichment after the injury prevented the development of depression and reduced mechanical hypersensitivity. On the cellular level, increased neuronal excitability was associated with the depressive phenotype that was reversed by the enrichment. Therefore, neuronal excitability in the ACC was inversely correlated to the extended enrichment-induced resilience to depression. These results suggest that the improvement of environmental factors enhanced the resilience to developing chronic pain-related depression. Additionally, we confirmed the association between increased neuronal excitability in the ACC and depression-like states. Therefore, this non-pharmacological intervention could serve as a potential treatment strategy for comorbid symptoms of chronic pain.
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Experience-dependent plasticity in early stations of sensory processing in mature brains: effects of environmental enrichment on dendrite measures in trigeminal nuclei. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 227:865-879. [PMID: 34807302 PMCID: PMC8930882 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02424-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Nervous systems respond with structural changes to environmental changes even in adulthood. In recent years, experience-dependent structural plasticity was shown not to be restricted to the cerebral cortex, as it also occurs at subcortical and even peripheral levels. We have previously shown that two populations of trigeminal nuclei neurons, trigeminothalamic barrelette neurons of the principal nucleus (Pr5), and intersubnuclear neurons in the caudal division of the spinal trigeminal nucleus (Sp5C) that project to Pr5 underwent morphometric and topological changes in their dendritic trees after a prolonged total or partial loss of afferent input from the vibrissae. Here we examined whether and what structural alterations could be elicited in the dendritic trees of the same cell populations in young adult rats after being exposed for 2 months to an enriched environment (EE), and how these changes evolved when animals were returned to standard housing for an additional 2 months. Neurons were retrogradely labeled with BDA delivered to, respectively, the ventral posteromedial thalamic nucleus or Pr5. Fully labeled cells were digitally reconstructed with Neurolucida and analyzed with NeuroExplorer. EE gave rise to increases in dendritic length, number of trees and branching nodes, spatial expansion of the trees, and dendritic spines, which were less pronounced in Sp5C than in Pr5 and differed between sides. In Pr5, these parameters returned, but only partially, to control values after EE withdrawal. These results underscore a ubiquity of experience-dependent changes that should not be overlooked when interpreting neuroplasticity and developing plasticity-based therapeutic strategies.
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Kimura LF, Novaes LS, Picolo G, Munhoz CD, Cheung CW, Camarini R. How environmental enrichment balances out neuroinflammation in chronic pain and comorbid depression and anxiety disorders. Br J Pharmacol 2021; 179:1640-1660. [PMID: 34076891 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Depression and anxiety commonly occur in chronic pain states and the coexistence of these diseases worsens outcomes for both disorders and may reduce treatment adherence and response. Despite the advances in the knowledge of chronic pain mechanisms, pharmacological treatment is still unsatisfactory. Research based on exposure to environmental enrichment is currently under investigation and seems to offer a promising low-cost strategy with no side effects. In this review, we discuss the role of inflammation as a major biological substrate and aetiological factor of chronic pain and depression/anxiety and report a collection of preclinical evidence of the effects and mechanisms of environmental enrichment. As microglia participates in the development of both conditions, we also discuss microglia as a potential target underlying the beneficial actions of environmental enrichment in chronic pain and comorbid depression/anxiety. We also discuss how alternative interventions under clinical guidelines, such as environmental enrichment, may improve treatment compliance and patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise F Kimura
- Laboratory of Pain and Signaling, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Leonardo S Novaes
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gisele Picolo
- Laboratory of Pain and Signaling, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carolina D Munhoz
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Chi W Cheung
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Rosana Camarini
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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