AUTHOR=Li Nannan , Li Chunmei , Han Rui , Wang Yu , Yang Mina , Wang Hongbo , Tian Jingwei
TITLE=LPM580098, a Novel Triple Reuptake Inhibitor of Serotonin, Noradrenaline, and Dopamine, Attenuates Neuropathic Pain
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology
VOLUME=10
YEAR=2019
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.00053
DOI=10.3389/fphar.2019.00053
ISSN=1663-9812
ABSTRACT=Background and Purpose: Sedation and somnolence remain serious adverse effects of the existing analgesics (e.g., pregabalin, duloxetine) for neuropathic pain. The available evidence indicates that serotonin (5-HT), noradrenaline (NE), and dopamine (DA) play important roles in modulating the descending inhibitory pain pathway and sleep–wake cycle. The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis that LPM580098, a novel triple reuptake inhibitor (TRI) of 5-HT, NE, and DA, has analgesic effect, and does not induce significant adverse effects associated with central inhibition, such as sedation and somnolence.
Methods: The analgesic activity of LPM580098 was assessed on formalin test and spinal nerve ligation (SNL)-induced neuropathic pain model. Locomotor activity, pentobarbital sodium-induced sleeping and rota-rod tests were also conducted. In vitro binding and uptake assays, and Western blotting were performed to examine the potential mechanisms.
Results: LPM580098 suppressed the nocifensive behaviors during phase II of the formalin test in mice. In SNL rats, LPM580098 (16 mg kg−1) inhibited mechanical allodynia, thermal hyperalgesia and hyperexcitation of wide-dynamic range (WDR) neurons, in which the effect of LPM580098 was similar to pregabalin (30 mg kg−1). However, pregabalin altered the spontaneous locomotion, affected pentobarbital sodium-induced sleep, and showed a trend to perform motor dysfunction, which were not induced by LPM580098. Mechanistically, LPM580098 inhibited the uptake of 5-HT, NE, and DA, improved pain-induced changes of the synaptic functional plasticity and structural plasticity possibly via downregulating the NR2B/CaMKIIα/GluR1 and Rac1/RhoA signaling pathways.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that LPM580098, a novel TRI, is effective in attenuating neuropathic pain without producing unwanted sedation and somnolence associated with central nervous system (CNS) depressants.