Cortical spreading depression decreases Fos expression in rat periaqueductal gray matter
Neuroscience Letters. 2015-01-01; 585: 138-143
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2014.11.026
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Borysovych Bogdanov V(1), Bogdanova OV(2), Lombard A(3), Chauvel V(3), Multon
S(3), Kot LI(2), Makarchuk MY(2), Schoenen J(3).
Author information:
(1)Giga-Neurosciences, Headache Research Unit, University of Liege, Liege 4000,
Belgium; Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Volodymyrska Str. 64, Kyiv
01033, Ukraine; INRA, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée and University
Bordeaux, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, UMR 1286, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat,
Bordeaux Cedex 33076, France. Electronic address: .
(2)Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Volodymyrska Str. 64, Kyiv
01033, Ukraine.
(3)Giga-Neurosciences, Headache Research Unit, University of Liege, Liege 4000,
Belgium.
The migraine headache involves activation and central sensitization of the
trigeminovascular pain pathway. The migraine aura is likely due to cortical
spreading depression (CSD), a propagating wave of brief neuronal depolarization
followed by prolonged inhibition. The precise link between CSD and headache
remains controversial. Our objectives were to study the effect of CSD on neuronal
activation in the periaqueductal grey matter (PAG), an area known to control pain
and autonomic functions, and to be involved in migraine pathogenesis.
Fos-immunoreactive nuclei were counted in rostral PAG and Edinger-Westphal nuclei
(PAG-EWn bregma -6.5 mm), and caudal PAG (bregma -8 mm) of 17 adult male
Sprague-Dawley rats after KCl-induced CSD under chloral hydrate anesthesia. Being
part of a pharmacological study, six animals had received, for the preceding 4
weeks daily, intraperitoneal injections of lamotrigine (15 mg/kg), six others had
been treated with saline, while five sham-operated animals served as controls. We
found that the number of Fos-immunoreactive nuclei in the PAG decreased after CSD
provocation. There was no difference between lamotrigine- and saline-treated
animals. The number of CSDs correlated negatively with Fos-immunoreactive counts.
CSD-linked inhibition of neuronal activity in the PAG might play a role in
central sensitization during migraine attacks and contribute to a better
understanding of the link between the aura and the headache.
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