Sachiyo Nishimura

Hydrogen sulfide as a novel mediator for pancreatic pain in rodents

Objective: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is formed from l-cysteine by multiple enzymes including cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE) in mammals, and plays various roles in health and disease. Recently, a pronociceptive role for H2S in the processing of somatic pain was identified. Here, the involvement of H2S in pancreatic pain is examined. Methods: Anaesthetised rats or mice received an injection of NaHS, a donor for H2S, or capsaicin into the pancreatic duct, and the expression of spinal Fos protein was detected by immunohistochemistry. Pancreatitis was created by 6 hourly doses of caerulein in unanaesthetised mice, and pancreatitis-related allodynia/hyperalgesia was evaluated using von Frey hairs. CSE activity and protein levels in pancreatic tissues were measured using the colorimetric method and western blotting, respectively. Results: Either NaHS or capsaicin induced the expression of Fos protein in the superficial layers of the T8 and T9 spinal dorsal horn of rats or mice. The induction of Fos by NaHS but not capsaicin was abolished by mibefradil, a T-type Ca2+ channel blocker. In conscious mice, repeated doses of caerulein produced pancreatitis accompanied by abdominal allodynia/hyperalgesia. Pretreatment with an inhibitor of CSE prevented the allodynia/hyperalgesia, but not the pancreatitis. A single dose of mibefradil reversed the established pancreatitis-related allodynia/hyperalgesia. Either the activity or protein expression of pancreatic CSE increased after the development of caerulein-induced pancreatitis in mice. Conclusions: The data suggest that pancreatic NaHS/H2S most probably targets T-type Ca2+ channels, leading to nociception, and that endogenous H2S produced by CSE and possibly T-type Ca2+ channels are involved in pancreatitis-related pain.

Suppression by protease-activated receptor-2 activation of gastric acid secretion in rats

Activation of protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2), a receptor activated by trypsin/tryptase, induces neurally mediated gastric mucus secretion accompanied by mucosal cytoprotection. In the present study, we investigated whether PAR-2 could modulate gastric acid secretion in rats. Messenger RNAs for PAR-2 and PAR-1 were detected in the gastric mucosa and smooth muscle. The PAR-2-activating peptide SLIGRL-NH(2), but not the inactive control peptide, when administered i.v., strongly suppressed gastric acid secretion in response to carbachol, pentagastrin or 2-deoxy-D-glucose in the rats with a pylorus ligation. The PAR-2-mediated suppression of acid secretion was resistant to cyclooxygenase inhibition or ablation of sensory neurons by capsaicin. Our results provide novel evidence that in addition to stimulating neurally mediated mucus secretion, activation of PAR-2 suppresses gastric acid secretion independently of prostanoid production or sensory neurons. These dual actions of PAR-2 would result in gastric mucosal cytoprotection.

Phosphorylation of ERK in the spinal dorsal horn following pancreatic pronociceptive stimuli with proteinase-activated receptor-2 agonists and hydrogen sulfide in rats: evidence for involvement of distinct mechanisms.

Noxious stimuli cause prompt phosphorylation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) in the spinal dorsal horn that contributes to facilitation of pain sensation and is often used as an immediate marker for excitation of spinal neurons following somatic and colonic nociception. Here we asked whether two distinct pronociceptive stimuli with proteinase‐activated receptor‐2 (PAR2) agonists and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the pancreas cause phosphorylation of ERK in the spinal dorsal horn and also examined involvement of their possible downstream signaling molecules, transient receptor potential vanilloid‐1 (TRPV1) and T‐type Ca2+ channels, respectively. Capsaicin (a TRPV1 agonist), trypsin (an endogenous PAR2 agonist), SLIGRL‐NH2 (a PAR2‐activating peptide), and NaHS (an H2S donor) were infused into the pancreatic duct in anesthetized rats, and phosphorylated ERK in the spinal cord was detected by immunohistochemistry. Intraductal administration of capsaicin and trypsin caused prompt phosphorylation of ERK in the superficial layers of T9, but not T5 or T12, spinal dorsal horn. SLIGRL‐NH2 and NaHS, administered in the same manner, also produced ERK phosphorylation in the corresponding spinal regions. Mibefradil, a T‐type Ca2+ channel blocker, abolished the phosphorylation of ERK caused by intraductal NaHS but not SLIGRL‐NH2. In contrast, capsazepine, an inhibitor of TRPV1, suppressed the phosphorylation of ERK caused by intraductal SLIGRL‐NH2 but not NaHS. Our data thus demonstrate that pancreatic pronociceptive stimuli with PAR2 agonists and H2S cause ERK phosphorylation in the spinal dorsal horn, through activation of TRPV1 and T‐type Ca2+ channels, respectively, and that those two pronociceptive pathways are independent of each other.

The proteinase/proteinase-activated receptor-2/transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 cascade impacts pancreatic pain in mice

AIMS Proteinase-activated receptor-2 (PAR2) and transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) are co-localized in the primary afferents, and the trans-activation of TRPV1 by PAR2 activation is involved in processing of somatic pain. Given evidence for contribution of PAR2 to pancreatic pain, the present study aimed at clarifying the involvement of TRPV1 in processing of pancreatic pain by the proteinase/PAR2 pathway in mice. MAIN METHODS Acute pancreatitis was created by repeated administration of cerulein in conscious mice, and the referred allodynia/hyperalgesia was assessed using von Frey filaments. Injection of PAR2 agonists into the pancreatic duct was achieved in anesthetized mice, and expression of Fos in the spinal cord was determined by immunohistochemistry. KEY FINDINGS The established referred allodynia/hyperalgesia following cerulein treatment was abolished by post-treatment with nafamostat mesilate, a proteinase inhibitor, and with capsazepine, a TRPV1 antagonist, in mice. Injection of trypsin, an endogenous PAR2 agonist, or SLIGRL-NH(2), a PAR2-activating peptide, into the pancreatic duct caused expression of Fos protein in the spinal superficial layers at T8-T10 levels in the mice. The spinal Fos expression caused by trypsin and by SLIGRL-NH(2) was partially blocked by capsazepine, the former effect abolished by nafamostat mesilate. SIGNIFICANCE Our data thus suggest that the proteinase/PAR2/TRPV1 cascade might impact pancreatic pain, in addition to somatic pain, and play a role in the maintenance of pancreatitis-related pain in mice.

Roles of Cav3.2 and TRPA1 channels targeted by hydrogen sulfide in pancreatic nociceptive processing in mice with or without acute pancreatitis

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), formed by multiple enzymes, including cystathionine‐γ‐lyase (CSE), targets Cav3.2 T‐type Ca2+ channels (T channels) and transient receptor potential ankyrin‐1 (TRPA1), facilitating somatic pain. Pancreatitis‐related pain also appears to involve activation of T channels by H2S formed by the upregulated CSE. Therefore, this study investigates the roles of the Cav3.2 isoform and/or TRPA1 in pancreatic nociception in the absence and presence of pancreatitis. In anesthetized mice, AP18, a TRPA1 inhibitor, abolished the Fos expression in the spinal dorsal horn caused by injection of a TRPA1 agonist into the pancreatic duct. As did mibefradil, a T‐channel inhibitor, in our previous report, AP18 prevented the Fos expression following ductal NaHS, an H2S donor. In the mice with cerulein‐induced acute pancreatitis, the referred hyperalgesia was suppressed by NNC 55‐0396 (NNC), a selective T‐channel inhibitor; zinc chloride; or ascorbic acid, known to inhibit Cav3.2 selectively among three T‐channel isoforms; and knockdown of Cav3.2. In contrast, AP18 and knockdown of TRPA1 had no significant effect on the cerulein‐induced referred hyperalgesia, although they significantly potentiated the antihyperalgesic effect of NNC at a subeffective dose. TRPA1 but not Cav3.2 in the dorsal root ganglia was downregulated at a protein level in mice with cerulein‐induced pancreatitis. The data indicate that TRPA1 and Cav3.2 mediate the exogenous H2S‐induced pancreatic nociception in naïve mice and suggest that, in the mice with pancreatitis, Cav3.2 targeted by H2S primarily participates in the pancreatic pain, whereas TRPA1 is downregulated and plays a secondary role in pancreatic nociceptive signaling.