The anti-neuroinflammatory effects of coral-derived compounds in nociception

• Main Authors: Shi-Ying Huang, 黃世英
• Other Authors: Zhi-Hong Wen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/kh8j8f

博士 === 國立中山大學 === 海洋生物科技暨資源學系研究所 === 102 === Up to the present, clinical analgesics and opiates have not been able to alleviate symptoms of chronic pain effectively and the cellular mechanisms of this disorder are still under investigation. In the present study, we first evaluated the anti-nociceptive effects and cellular mechanisms of two marine-derived anti-inflammatory compounds in two standard chronic pain models. Compared with gabapentin, one of the coral-derived compounds, lemnalol, effectively attenuated nociceptive sensitization and inhibited spinal neuroinflammation (comprising astrocyte and microglia activation, and tumor necrosis factor-α upregulation) in chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathy. The other compound, sinularin, significantly inhibited nociception and spinal neuroinflammation, and upregulated spinal transforming growth factor-β1 in carrageenan-induced neurogenic pain. Second, we successfully established a novel inflammatory zebrafish model for accelerating the discovery of anti-inflammatory drugs. Third, we demonstrated that a spinal tumor suppressor gene plays an important role in anti-neuroinflammation and in the development/maintenance of neuropathic pain. Based on our findings, we identified two potential therapeutic agents and a role for a tumor suppressor gene in treating chronic pain.