Electroacupuncture participates in pain transition through the KCC2/GABAAR pathway in the spinal dorsal horn of male rats

作者：Mengting Shi, Yangkun Liu, Yi Liang, Junfan Fang, Jin Yin, Ruijie Ma, Jie Zhou · 发表于：Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1097/hm9.0000000000000161 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies、Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation、Healthcare and Venom Research

Objective: Preventing the transition from acute to chronic pain (pain transition) is a new strategy for treating chronic pain. The present study aimed to investigate the role of K + -Cl − Cotransporter Isoform 2 (KCC2) and γ-aminobutyric acid receptor type A (GABAAR) in the spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH) in pain transition and the intervention effect of electroacupuncture (EA), and to understand the mechanism of EA in preventing acute and chronic pain transition in the spinal center. Methods: A rat model of hyperalgesic priming (HP) was established by injecting carrageenan (Car) into the plantar area of rats, followed by the injection of prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) into the dorsal foot 7 days later. The GABAAR agonist (muscimol) and KCC2 activator (CLP257) were intrathecally injected for three consecutive days after PGE 2 injection. EA was applied at a frequency of 2/100 Hz to the bilateral foot Zusanli (ST36) and Kunlun (BL60). A von Frey filament was used to detect the pain threshold in each group of rats. Western blotting (WB) and immunofluorescence (IF) were used to detect GABAAR and KCC2 expression in each rats group. By combining EA intervention with a KCC2 inhibitor (VU0240551), we explored the mechanism of pain transition of EA regulation of GABAAR and KCC2 expression in SCDH. Results: The HP model was established by injecting mice with Car/PGE 2 . Compared to the normal saline (NS) + NS and NS + PGE 2 groups, the pain threshold of the Car + PGE 2 group decreased signi...