Intravenous lidocaine alleviates postherpetic neuralgia in rats via regulation of neuroinflammation of microglia and astrocytes

Lulin Ma; Juan Li; Junli Zhou; Dexin Zhang; Zhi Xiao; Tian Yu; Ying Li; Song Cao

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.102108

Intravenous lidocaine alleviates postherpetic neuralgia in rats via regulation of neuroinflammation of microglia and astrocytes

iScience. 2021 Jan 26;24(2):102108. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102108. eCollection 2021 Feb 19.

Authors

Lulin Ma^{1

2}, Juan Li¹, Junli Zhou¹, Dexin Zhang¹, Zhi Xiao³, Tian Yu³, Ying Li¹, Song Cao^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pain Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
² Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
³ Guizhou Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Organ Protection, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the effects and possible mechanisms of intravenous lidocaine in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) rats. Mechanical withdrawal thresholds and thermal withdrawal latencies were measured. Open field test, elevated plus maze test, and tail suspension test were used to assess anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors. Microglia and astrocytes in spinal dorsal horn (SDH), prefrontal cortex (PFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and hippocampus were analyzed. The expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-4 in SDH and serum were evaluated. Intravenous lidocaine alleviated mechanical allodynia and thermal hypoalgesia, downregulated the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β, and inhibited the activation of microglia and astrocytes in SDH. In addition, it reduced the activation of astrocyte but not microglia in PFC, ACC, and hippocampus. Intravenous lidocaine may relieve PHN by inhibiting the activation of microglia and astrocyte in SDH or by reducing the neuroinflammation and astrocyte activation in PFC, ACC, and hippocampus.

Keywords: Cellular Physiology; Immunology; Neuroscience.