Excessive alcohol intake produces persistent mechanical allodynia and dysregulates the endocannabinoid system in the lumbar dorsal root ganglia of genetically-selected Marchigian Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Epidemiological data indicate a strong association between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and neuropathic pain. Genetically-selected Marchigian Sardinian alcohol-preferring (msP) rats exhibit a high preference for alcohol compared with their background strain (Wistar rats), but their sensitivity to mechanical allodynia after chronic alcohol exposure is unknown. The present study compared the development of mechanical allodynia between "low, non-pathological drinker" Wistar rats and "high drinker" msP rats using the two-bottle choice (2BC) free-access procedure. Several studies reported the involvement of endocannabinoids (eCBs) in modulating mechanical allodynia, but there are no data on their role in alcohol-related allodynia. Thus, the present study assessed eCBs and their related lipid species in lumbar dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and correlated them with mechanical allodynia in our model. We found that male and female msP rats developed persistent mechanical allodynia during protracted abstinence from alcohol, presenting no sign of recovery, as opposed to Wistar rats. This effect directly correlated with their total alcohol intake. Notably, we found a correlation between lower lumbar DRG 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) levels and the development of higher mechanical allodynia during abstinence in msP rats of both sexes but not in Wistar rats. Moreover, alcohol-exposed and abstinent msP and Wistar females but not males exhibited significant alterations of thromboxane B2 and prostaglandin E2/prostaglandin D2 compared with naive rats. These findings demonstrate that DRG 2-AG metabolism is altered in msP rats during prolonged abstinence and represents a potentially interesting pharmacological target for the treatment of mechanical allodynia during alcohol abstinence.
Source: Pharmacological Research
Authors: Vittoria Borgonetti, Valentina Vozella, Tim Ware, Bryan Cruz, Ryan Bullard, Benjamin F. Cravatt, Nicoletta Galeotti, Marisa Roberto
Institutions: Scripps Research Institute, University of Florence
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,740
Awards: G1074901108, G1125734972, G1902745206, G1925313781, Neuroplasticity of the Extended Amygdala CRF circuitry in alcohol dependence, G236340927, G2566336962, G2857307434, G2870194014, G3497339853, G4234095926, G5600840947, G56130422, The Role of Endocannabinoids in Adulthood Alcohol Drinking After Adolescent Social Isolation, 9/10 Electrophysiology of Alcohol in Extended Amygdala, NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY: MULTIDISCIPLINARY TRAINING, Gene-environment interaction: the brain CRF system in alcohol preferring msP rats, CNS Effects of Alcohol: Cellular Neurobiology
OpenAlex ID: W4403326705