Intrathecally administered spermine produces the scratching, biting and licking behaviour in mice

• Published in: Pain (Amsterdam) Vol. 86; no. 1; pp. 55 - 61
• Main Authors: Tan-No, Koichi, Taira, Aki, Wako, Kenji, Niijima, Fukie, Nakagawasai, Osamu, Tadano, Takeshi, Sakurada, Chikai, Sakurada, Tsukasa, Kisara, Kensuke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.05.2000; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aggression - drug effects; Analgesics, Opioid - pharmacology; Animals; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists - pharmacology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hindlimb - physiology; Ifenprodil; Injections, Spinal; Intrathecal administration; Male; Mice; Morphine - pharmacology; Mouse; Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists; NK-1 receptor antagonist; NMDA antagonist; Pruritus - chemically induced; Pruritus - psychology; Scratching/biting/licking behaviour; Somesthesis and somesthetic pathways (proprioception, exteroception, nociception); interoception; electrolocation. Sensory receptors; Spermine; Spermine - administration & dosage; Spermine - antagonists & inhibitors; Spermine - pharmacology; Time Factors; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; NMDA antagonist; NK-1 receptor antagonist; Ifenprodil; Spermine; Mouse; Scratching/biting/licking behaviour; Intrathecal administration; Nociception; Polyamine; Spinal cord; Scratching behavior; NK1 Tachykinin receptor; Rodentia; Central nervous system; Glutamate receptor; Licking behavior; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Somesthetic pathway; NMDA receptor
• ISSN: 0304-3959; 1872-6623
• DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3959(99)00312-7

Intrathecal (i.t.) administration of spermine (0.1–10000 fmol), an endogenous polyamine, produced the behavioural response mainly consisting of biting and/or licking of the hindpaw along with a slight hindlimb scratching directed toward the flank in mice, which peaked at 5–15 min and almost disappeared at 30 min after an injection. The behaviour induced by spermine (10 pmol) was dose-dependently inhibited by intraperitoneal injection of morphine (0.125–0.5 mg/kg). The characteristic behaviour was also inhibited dose-dependently by i.t. co-administration of ifenprodil (62.5–4000 pmol), a competitive antagonist of the polyamine recognition site on N-methyl- d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor ion-channel complex, and d(−)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid ( d-APV) (0.5–2 nmol) and 3-((±)-2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP) (7.8–500 pmol), the competitive NMDA receptor antagonists, and (5 R,10 S)-(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5 H-dibenzo[ a,b]cycloheptene-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate (MK-801) (0.5–4 nmol), an NMDA ion-channel blocker, but not by 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), a non-NMDA receptor antagonist. Both (2 S,3 S)-[cis-2-(diphenylmethyl)- N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)-methyl]-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane-3-amine] (CP-96,345), a non-peptidic neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptor antagonist, and CP-96,344, its inactive 2 R,3 R enantiomer, inhibited spermine-induced behavioural response in a dose-dependent manner. However, [Tyr 6, d-Phe 7, d-His 9]-substance P(6–11) (sendide) and [ d-Phe 7, d-His 9]-substance P(6–11), the selective antagonists for NK-1 receptors, were without affecting spermine-induced behaviour. These results indicate that spermine-induced behaviour is mediated through the polyamine recognition site on NMDA receptor ion-channel complex without the involvement of substance P system in the mouse spinal cord.