Prenatal alcohol exposure potentiates chronic neuropathic pain, spinal glial and immune cell activation and alters sciatic nerve and DRG cytokine levels.

ABSTRACT: A growing body of evidence indicates that prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) may predispose individuals to secondary medical disabilities later in life. Animal models of PAE reveal neuroimmune sequelae such as elevated brain astrocyte and microglial activation with corresponding region-specific changes in immune signaling molecules such as cytokines and chemokines. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of moderate PAE on the development and maintenance of allodynia induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve in adult male rat offspring. Because CCI allodynia requires the actions of glial cytokines, we analyzed lumbar spinal cord glial and immune cell surface markers indicative of their activation levels, as well as sciatic nerve and dorsal root ganglia (DRG)

SUBMITTER: Noor S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5316367 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature