Swing time ratio, a new parameter of gait disturbance, for the evaluation of the severity of neuropathic pain in a rat model of partial sciatic nerve ligation

Gait analysis in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity rodent models

Gait analysis could be used in animal models as an indicator of sensory ataxia due to chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN). Over the years, gait analysis in in vivo studies has evolved from simple observations carried out by a trained operator to computerised systems with machine learning that allow the quantification of any variable of interest and the establishment of algorithms for behavioural classification. However, there is not a consensus on gait analysis use in CIPN animal models; therefore, we carried out a systematic review. Of 987 potentially relevant studies, 14 were included, in which different methods were analysed (observation, footprint and CatWalk™). We presented the state-of-the-art of possible approaches to analyse sensory ataxia in rodent models, addressing advantages and disadvantages of different methods available. Semi-automated methods may be of interest when preventive or therapeutic strategies are evaluated, also considering their methodological simplicity and automaticity; up to now, only CatWalk™ analysis has been tested. Future studies should expect that CIPN-affected animals tend to reduce hind paw support due to pain, allodynia or loss of sensation, and an increase in swing phase could or should be observed. Few available studies documented these impairments at the last time point, and only appeared later on respect to other earlier signs of CIPN (such as altered neurophysiological findings). For that reason, gait impairment could be interpreted as late repercussions of loss of sensory.

The influence of rat strain on the development of neuropathic pain and comorbid anxio-depressive behaviour after nerve injury

Back-translating the clinical manifestations of human disease burden into animal models is increasingly recognized as an important facet of preclinical drug discovery. We hypothesized that inbred rat strains possessing stress hyper-reactive-, depressive- or anxiety-like phenotypes may possess more translational value than common outbred strains for modeling neuropathic pain. Rats (inbred: LEW, WKY, F344/ICO and F344/DU, outbred: Crl:SD) were exposed to Spared Nerve Injury (SNI) and evaluated routinely for 6 months on behaviours related to pain (von Frey stimulation and CatWalk-gait analysis), anxiety (elevated plus maze, EPM) and depression (sucrose preference test, SPT). Markers of stress reactivity together with spinal/brain opioid receptor expression were also measured. All strains variously developed mechanical allodynia after SNI with the exception of stress-hyporesponsive LEW rats, despite all strains displaying similar functional gait-deficits after injury. However, affective changes reflective of anxiety- and depressive-like behaviour were only observed for F344/DU in the EPM, and for Crl:SD in SPT. Although differences in stress reactivity and opioid receptor expression occurred, overall they were relatively unaffected by SNI. Thus, anxio-depressive behaviours did not develop in all strains after nerve injury, and correlated only modestly with degree of pain sensitivity or with genetic predisposition to stress and/or affective disturbances.

The search for translational pain outcomes to refine analgesic development: Where did we come from and where are we going?

Pain measures traditionally used in rodents record mere reflexes evoked by sensory stimuli; the results thus may not fully reflect the human pain phenotype. Alterations in physical and emotional functioning, pain-depressed behaviors and facial pain expressions were recently proposed as additional pain outcomes to provide a more accurate measure of clinical pain in rodents, and hence to potentially enhance analgesic drug development. We aimed to review how preclinical pain assessment has evolved since the development of the tail flick test in 1941, with a particular focus on a critical analysis of some nonstandard pain outcomes, and a consideration of how sex differences may affect the performance of these pain surrogates. We tracked original research articles in Medline for the following periods: 1973-1977, 1983-1987, 1993-1997, 2003-2007, and 2014-2018. We identified 606 research articles about alternative surrogate pain measures, 473 of which were published between 2014 and 2018. This indicates that preclinical pain assessment is moving toward the use of these measures, which may soon become standard procedures in preclinical pain laboratories.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A Signaling Promotes Spinal Central Sensitization and Pain-related Behaviors in Female Rats with Bone Cancer

Editor’s Perspective

What We Already Know about This Topic

What This Article Tells Us That Is New

Background

Cancer pain is a pervasive clinical symptom impairing life quality. Vascular endothelial growth factor A has been well studied in tumor angiogenesis and is recognized as a therapeutic target for anti-cancer treatment. This study tested the hypothesis that vascular endothelial growth factor A and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 contribute to bone cancer pain regulation associated with spinal central sensitization.

Methods

This study was performed on female rats using a metastatic breast cancer bone pain model. Nociceptive behaviors were evaluated by mechanical allodynia, thermal hyperalgesia, spontaneous pain, and CatWalk gait analysis. Expression levels were measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and immunofluorescence analysis. Excitatory synaptic transmission was detected by whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. The primary outcome was the effect of pharmacologic intervention of spinal vascular endothelial growth factor A/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2–signaling on bone cancer pain behaviors.

Results

The mRNA and protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 were upregulated in tumor-bearing rats. Spinal blocking vascular endothelial growth factor A or vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 significantly attenuated tumor-induced mechanical allodynia (mean ± SD: vascular endothelial growth factor A, 7.6 ± 2.6 g vs. 5.3 ± 3.3 g; vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2, 7.8 ± 3.0 g vs. 5.2 ± 3.4 g; n = 6; P < 0.0001) and thermal hyperalgesia (mean ± SD: vascular endothelial growth factor A, 9.0 ± 2.4 s vs. 7.4 ± 2.7 s; vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2, 9.3 ± 2.5 s vs. 7.5 ± 3.1 s; n = 6; P < 0.0001), as well as spontaneous pain and abnormal gaits. Exogenous vascular endothelial growth factor A enhanced excitatory synaptic transmission in a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2–dependent manner, and spinal injection of exogenous vascular endothelial growth factor A was sufficient to cause pain hypersensitivity via vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2–mediated activation of protein kinase C and Src family kinase in naïve rats. Moreover, spinal blocking vascular endothelial growth factor A/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 pathways suppressed protein kinase C-mediated N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor activation and Src family kinase-mediated proinflammatory cytokine production.

Conclusions

Vascular endothelial growth factor A/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 contributes to central sensitization and bone cancer pain via activation of neuronal protein kinase C and microglial Src family kinase pathways in the spinal cord.

Olive leaf extract prevents cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis of STR/ort mice

The chondroprotective effect of olive leaf extract (OLE) on knee osteoarthritis (OA) was studied with STR/ort mice (n = 5). OLE was administrated with a dosage of 100 mg/kg for 8 weeks and the OA severity score of hind limb knee joints was then measured. The Mankin scores of the knee joints of the non-OA control group, OA control group and OLE-treated group were 3.50, 11.13 and 7.20, respectively. This suggests that oral OLE supplements help prevent cartilage degeneration in STR/ort mice. In vitro, the synthesis of high molecular weight hyaluronan in synovial cells (HIG-82) was increased by OLE stimulation. This suggests that OLE modulates hyaluronan metabolism in synovial cells and improves OA symptoms. Our findings indicate that OLE intake inhibits cartilage destruction by increasing high molecular weight hyaluronan and thus preventing OA progress.

Time-dependent loss of mitochondrial function precedes progressive histologic cartilage degeneration in a rabbit meniscal destabilization model

The goals of this work were to characterize progression of osteoarthritic cartilage degeneration in a rabbit medial meniscus destabilization (MMD) model and then to use the model to identify pre-histologic disruptions in chondrocyte metabolism under chronically elevated joint contact stresses in vivo. To characterize PTOA progression, 24 rabbits received either MMD or sham surgery. Limb loading was analyzed preoperatively and at regular postoperative intervals using a Tekscan pressure-sensitive walkway. Animals were euthanized 8 (n = 8 MMD; n = 8 sham) or 26 weeks (n = 8 MMD) postoperatively for histological cartilage evaluation by an objective, semi-automated Mankin scoring routine. To examine pre-histologic pathology, MMD was performed on an additional 20 rabbits, euthanized 1 (n = 9) or 4 weeks (n = 10) postoperatively. Chondrocytes were harvested fresh for measurement of mitochondrial function, an intracellular indicator of pathology after mechanical injury. Both MMD and sham surgery caused slight decreases in limb loading which returned to preoperative levels after 2 weeks. Histologically apparent cartilage damage progressed from 8 to 26 weeks after MMD. Changes in chondrocyte respiration were variable at 1 week, but by 4 weeks postoperatively chondrocyte mitochondrial function was significantly reduced. Many human injuries that lead to PTOA are relatively mild, and the cell-level mechanisms leading to disease remain unclear. We have documented PTOA progression in an animal model of subtle joint injury under continued use, and demonstrated that this model provides a realistic environment for investigation of multi-stage cellular pathology that develops prior to overt tissue degeneration and which could be targeted for disease modifying treatments. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:590-599, 2017.