TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bishay, Philipp
A1  - Schmidt, Helmut
A1  - Marian, Claudiu
A1  - Häussler, Annett
A1  - Wijnvoord, Nina
A1  - Ziebell, Simone
A1  - Metzner, Julia
A1  - Koch, Marco
A1  - Myrczek, Thekla
A1  - Bechmann, Ingo Jürgen
A1  - Kuner, Rohini
A1  - Costigan, Michael
A1  - Dehghani, Faramarz
A1  - Geisslinger, Gerd
A1  - Tegeder, Irmgard
T1  - R-flurbiprofen reduces neuropathic pain in rodents by restoring endogenous cannabinoids
T2  - PLoS One
N2  - Background: R-flurbiprofen, one of the enantiomers of flurbiprofen racemate, is inactive with respect to cyclooxygenase inhibition, but shows analgesic properties without relevant toxicity. Its mode of action is still unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings: We show that R-flurbiprofen reduces glutamate release in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord evoked by sciatic nerve injury and thereby alleviates pain in sciatic nerve injury models of neuropathic pain in rats and mice. This is mediated by restoring the balance of endocannabinoids (eCB), which is disturbed following peripheral nerve injury in the DRGs, spinal cord and forebrain. The imbalance results from transcriptional adaptations of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and NAPE-phospholipase D, i.e. the major enzymes involved in anandamide metabolism and synthesis, respectively. R-flurbiprofen inhibits FAAH activity and normalizes NAPE-PLD expression. As a consequence, R-Flurbiprofen improves endogenous cannabinoid mediated effects, indicated by the reduction of glutamate release, increased activity of the anti-inflammatory transcription factor PPAR gamma and attenuation of microglia activation. Antinociceptive effects are lost by combined inhibition of CB1 and CB2 receptors and partially abolished in CB1 receptor deficient mice. R-flurbiprofen does however not cause changes of core body temperature which is a typical indicator of central effects of cannabinoid-1 receptor agonists. Conclusion: Our results suggest that R-flurbiprofen improves the endogenous mechanisms to regain stability after axonal injury and to fend off chronic neuropathic pain by modulating the endocannabinoid system and thus constitutes an attractive, novel therapeutic agent in the treatment of chronic, intractable pain.
Y1  - 2010
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/22552
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-114072
SN  - 1932-6203
N1  - Copyright: © 2010 Bishay et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
VL  - 5
IS  - (5): e10628
ER  -