周文 高峻 李桂香 李兆申
·論著·
NR2A、NR2B在慢性胰腺炎大鼠大腦前扣帶回的表達變化及意義
周文 高峻 李桂香 李兆申
目的檢測慢性胰腺炎(CP)大鼠大腦前扣帶回(ACC)的N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸受體亞基NR2A和NR2B基因表達水平,探討其在CP疼痛形成中的作用。方法成年雄性SD大鼠按數字表法隨機分為CP組、對照組和正常組。通過尾靜脈一次性注射二丁基二氯化物8 mg/kg體重的方法制備CP模型,對照組尾靜脈注射等容積乙醇和甘油混合液。4周后依次用不同粗細(3.85、5.50、7.05、10.4、17.8 g)的von frey纖維絲刺激大鼠腹部,記錄疼痛陽性反應次數的百分率。然后處死大鼠,取胰腺組織行病理學檢查,采用實時PCR和蛋白質印跡法檢測大腦ACC區NR2A、NR2B mRNA及蛋白表達量。結果CP模型成功率為60%。用Von frey纖維絲以3.85 g至17.8 g遞增刺激大鼠腹部,CP組大鼠陽性反應百分率從(38.33±7.53)%遞增到(73.33±8.17%),對照組大鼠從(7.80±6.70)%遞增到(34.44±5.27)%,正常組大鼠從(6.57±5.48)%遞增到(33.33±5.00)%,均隨著刺激強度增強而增加。每個刺激強度CP組大鼠的陽性反應百分率均顯著高于對照組及正常組,差異有統計學意義(P值均<0.05),而對照組與正常組間的差異均無統計學意義。CP組、對照組、正常組大鼠ACC區NR2A蛋白表達量分別為1.25±0.78、0.95±0.14、0.91±0.09,NR2B蛋白表達量為1.44±0.12、0.93±0.08、0.94±0.04,CP組顯著高于對照組及正常組,差異均有統計學意義(P值均<0.01);NR2A mRNA表達量為1.43±0.20、0.80±0.10、1.01±0.13,NR2B mRNA表達量為1.40±0.09、0.98±0.14、0.94±0.05,CP組顯著高于對照組及正常組,差異均有統計學意義(P值均<0.01)。結論CP大鼠大腦ACC區谷氨酸受體NR2A、NR2B的表達上調,可能參與CP疼痛的形成。
胰腺炎,慢性; 疼痛; 大腦皮質; N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸
慢性胰腺炎(CP)是各種病因引起的胰腺組織和功能持續性損害,疼痛為其主要臨床表現,85%~90%的患者可發生腹痛,嚴重影響生活質量[1]。現有理論認為CP患者的腹痛可能與胰管壓力增高、神經重塑、氧化應激、神經炎癥等相關,但均不能完全闡述疼痛的原因。近年來開始探討CP中樞神經系統的內臟痛覺傳導通路和關鍵中樞皮質區域的功能是否發生變化[2]。大腦前扣帶回(anterior cingulate cortex,ACC)是疼痛感知的關鍵皮層區域[3-4]。谷氨酸是中樞神經系統中感覺傳遞和感知的主要興奮性遞質,N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸(N-methyl-D-aspartate recepter, NMDA)是其離子型受體之一。研究發現,大腦ACC區NMDA受體表達變化與痛厭惡情緒的調節相關,且在慢性內臟痛動物模型中表達水平明顯升高[5-6]。本研究觀察CP大鼠大腦ACC區NMDA受體亞基NR2A、NR2B基因表達的變化,探討其與CP疼痛的相關性。
健康雄性SD大鼠20只,由第二軍醫大學實驗動物中心提供,體重180~220 g,飼養在室溫26℃左右、相對濕度60%~70%、晝夜周期12 h/12 h的環境中,水和食物供給充足。DBTC購自Sigma公司,逆轉錄試劑盒、PCR試劑盒購自TAKARA公司。兔抗鼠NR2A多抗購自Millipore公司、兔抗鼠NR2B多抗購自Abcam公司,辣根過氧化物標記的山羊抗兔二抗購自美國Millipore公司,內參Tubulin購自上海碧云天生物技術有限公司。
20只SD大鼠按隨機數字表法分為CP組(10只),對照組(5只),正常組(5只)。CP模型采用尾靜脈一次注射DBTC 8 mg/kg體重的方法制備[7-8]。對照組注射等容積乙醇和甘油混合液,正常組未予處理。實驗前禁食24 h,不禁水。
建模4周后大鼠腹部備皮,在大致相同的位置做標記。將大鼠置于懸掛的帶罩網狀架子上適應環境30 min。依次用不同粗細(3.85、5.50、7.05、10.4、17.8 g)的von frey纖維絲從下方刺激大鼠腹部標記處。每個規格使用10次,每次1~2 s,間隔15 s,以纖毛彎曲90°為準。大鼠舔舐腹部、收腹或身體收縮為陽性反應[9-10]。記錄陽性反應次數的百分率。
4周后處死大鼠,取胰腺組織,4%甲醛溶液固定,常規行病理學檢查。
4周后腹腔注射7%的水合氯醛麻醉大鼠,斷頭后迅速將頭置于冰上取出ACC區腦組織,置-80℃冰箱保存。用裂解液提取蛋白,定量后行蛋白質印跡法檢測NR2A、NR2B蛋白表達。抗NR2A抗體1∶500稀釋,抗NR2B抗體1∶1 000稀釋、抗Tubulin抗體1∶2 000稀釋。山羊抗兔二抗1∶5 000稀釋。最后通過凝膠成像系統采集圖像,ImageJ軟件掃描,以目的條帶與內參條帶灰度值比表示蛋白相對表達量。
使用Trazol提取大鼠大腦ACC區組織的總RNA,先反轉錄成cDNA,再行實時PCR反應擴增產物。根據GeneBank目的基因的全長序列,應用Primer3 Plus軟件設計引物。NR2A 上游引物 5′-GCCAGTTACACAGCCAACCT-3′,下游引物 5′-CAAATCGGAAAGGTGGAGAA-3′;NR2B 上游引物 5′-CGGATGTGTCCTGAGACTGA-3′,下游引物 5′-ATTCCTCATGCAGGTTCCAC-3′;內參GAPDH 上游引物 5′-CCCCCAATGTATCCGTTGTG-3′,下游引物 5′-TAGCCCAGGATGCCCTTTAGT-3′。引物合成由上海生工生物工程有限公司完成。反轉錄反應條件:37℃ 15 min,80℃ 30 s。PCR反應條件:95℃ 10 min,95℃ 15 s、60℃ 1 min,48個循環。通過儀器自帶軟件獲取Ct值,采用公式2-△△Ct計算mRNA的相對表達量。實驗重復3次,取均值。
建模4周后,CP組大鼠胰腺的腺泡萎縮,出現空泡狀細胞,小葉結構破壞,膠原纖維散在分布于血管和小葉間,炎性細胞浸潤(圖1A)。CP制備成功率為60%。對照組與正常組大鼠胰腺組織未見明顯病理改變(圖1B、1C)。

圖1 CP組(1A)、對照組(1B)、正常組(1C)大鼠胰腺組織病理改變(HE ×100)
用von frey纖維絲以3.85 g至17.8 g遞增刺激大鼠腹部,CP組大鼠陽性反應次數百分率從(38.33±7.53)%遞增到(73.33±8.17)%,對照組大鼠從(7.80±6.70)%遞增到(34.44±5.27)%,正常組大鼠從(6.57±5.48)%遞增到(33.33±5.0)%,均隨著刺激強度增強而增加。每個刺激強度CP組大鼠的陽性反應次數百分率均顯著高于對照組及正常組,差異有統計學意義(P值均<0.05),而對照組與正常組間的差異均無統計學意義。
CP組、對照組、正常組大鼠大腦ACC區NR2A蛋白表達量分別為1.25±0.78、0.95±0.14、0.91±0.09;NR2B蛋白表達量為1.44±0.12、0.93±0.08、0.94±0.04。CP組顯著高于對照組及正常組,差異均有統計學意義(P值均<0.01),而對照組與正常組的差異無統計學意義(P>0.05,圖2)。

圖2 正常組(1)、CP組(2)、對照組(3)大鼠大腦ACC區NR2A和NR2B蛋白表達
CP組、對照組、正常組大鼠大腦ACC區NR2A mRNA表達量分別為1.43±0.20、0.80±0.10、1.01±0.13;NR2B mRNA表達量為1.40±0.09、0.98±0.14、0.94±0.05。CP組顯著高于對照組及正常組,差異均有統計學意義(P值均<0.01),而對照組與正常組的差異無統計學意義(P>0.05)。
CP為臨床常見胰腺疾病,疼痛作為其主要臨床表現之一,是部分患者就診的首發癥狀并反復就醫的原因,但目前公認的CP疼痛機制尚未明確。近年來的研究發現,CP患者大腦杏仁核和ACC等處的血流增加,參與疼痛加工的大腦皮質厚度顯著變薄,且皮質厚度與疼痛評分呈正相關[11-12]。
ACC區是疼痛感知的關鍵皮層區域,其本身可參與疼痛傳遞和調節過程,還可通過調節多種疼痛相關受體參與痛覺行為的反應過程。NMDA受體在ACC區分布廣泛,可興奮突觸后傳遞,并在神經可塑性中起重要作用,與記憶形成、慢性疼痛等多種中樞功能有關,其中NR2A、NR2B在多種慢性疼痛中表達明顯增高[13-15]。有研究表明,通過慢病毒感染沉默ACC區NR2B表達可減弱ACC神經元的興奮性,顯著緩解疼痛反應[16]。NMDA受體依賴長時程增強效應(long-termpotentiation, LTP)是ACC長期可塑性的主要形式,與感覺傳遞和感知相關的中樞區域的突觸傳遞一起被認為是慢性疼痛的關鍵細胞機制。在外周刺激長時間作用下,突觸后NMDA受體觸發ACC的錐體神經元中的LTP,通過激活谷氨酸受體,增加鈣離子通透性。突觸后神經元內鈣離子濃度升高,激活鈣依賴的信號通路,正反饋引起谷氨酸及谷氨酸受體的表達上調,增強興奮性突觸傳遞,形成LTP,導致慢性內臟痛的形成與增強[17-18]。
本研究結果顯示,CP大鼠中樞ACC區域NR2A、NR2B表達上調,可增強ACC神經元的興奮性,促進傷害性信號傳遞,參與CP疼痛的形成。至于NMDA受體依賴LTP的具體機制有待進一步研究。
[1] Braganza JM, Lee SH, McCloy RF, et al. Chronic pancreatitis[J]. Lancet, 2011, 377(9772): 1184-1197. DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61852-1.
[2] Pasricha PJ. Unraveling the mystery of pain in chronic pancreatitis[J]. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2012, 9(3): 140-151. DOI:10.1038/nrgastro.2011.274.
[3] Li XY, Wang N, Zuo ZX, et al. Long-Term temporal imprecision of information coding in the anterior cingulate cortex of mice with peripheral inflammation or nerve Injury[J]. J Neurosci, 2014, 34(32): 10675-10687. DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5166-13.2014.
[4] Chen T, Koga K, Descalzi G, et al. Postsynaptic potentiation of corticospinal projecting neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex after nerve injury[J]. Mol Pain, 2014, 10: 33. DOI:10.1186/s13041-014-0076-8.
[5] Liu SB, Zhang MM, Cheng LF, et al. Long-term upregulation of cortical glutamatergic AMPA receptors in a mouse model of chronic visceral pain[J]. Mol Brain, 2015, 8(1): 76. DOI:10.1186/s13041-015-0169-z.
[6] Lei LG, Sun S, Gao YJ, et al. NMDA receptors in the anterior cingulate cortex mediate pain-related aversion[J]. Exp Neurol, 2004, 189(2): 413-421. DOI:10.1016/j.expneurol.2004.06.012.
[7] Sparmann G, Merkord J, Jaschke A, et al. Pancreatic fibrosis in experimental pancreatitis induced by dibutyltin dichloride[J]. Gastroenterology, 1997, 112(5): 1664-1672.
[8] Zhao HF, Ito T, Gibo J, et al. Anti-monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 gene therapy attenuates experimental chronic pancreatitis induced by dibutyltin dichloride in rats[J]. Gut, 2005, 54(12): 1759-1767.DOI:10.1136/gut.2004.049403.
[9] Miyauchi M, Suda K, Kuwayama C, et al. Role of fibrosis-related genes and pancreatic duct obstruction in rat pancreatitis models: implications for chronic pancreatitis[J]. Histol Histopathol, 2007, 22(10): 1119-1127.DOI:10.14670/HH-22.1119.
[10] Qian NS, Liao YH, Feng QX, et al. Spinal toll like receptor 3 is involved in chronic pancreatitis-induced mechanical allodynia of rat[J]. Mol Pain, 2011, 7: 15. DOI:10.1186/1744-8069-7-15.
[13] Yang JX, Hua L, Li YQ, et al. Caveolin-1 in the anterior cingulate cortex modulates chronic neuropathic pain via regulation of NMDA receptor 2B subunit[J]. J Neurosci, 2015, 35(1): 36-52. DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1161-14.2015.
[14] Zhuo M. Long-term potentiation in the anterior cingulate cortex and chronic pain[J]. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 2014, 369(1633): 20130146. DOI:10.1098/rstb.2013.0146.
[15] Li TT, Ren WH, Xiao X, et al. NMDA NR2A and NR2B receptors in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex contribute to pain-related aversion in male rats[J]. Pain, 2009, 146(1-2): 183-193. DOI:10.1016/j.pain.2009.07.027.
[16] Guo SG, Lv XH, Guan SH, et al. Silencing the NR2B gene in rat ACC neurons by lentivirus-delivered shRNA alleviates pain-related aversion[J]. Int J Clin Exp Med, 2015, 8(5): 6725-6734.
[17] Bliss TV, Collingridge GL. Expression of NMDA receptor-dependent LTP in the hippocampus: bridging the divide[J]. Molecular Brain, 2013, 6: 5. DOI:10.1186/1756-6606-6-5.
[18] Yan X, Jiang E, Gao M, et al. Endogenous activation of presynaptic NMDA receptors enhances glutamate release from the primary afferents in the spinal dorsal horn in a rat model of neuropathic pain[J]. The Journal of Physiology, 2013, 591: 2001. DOI:10.1113/jphysiol.2012.250522.
NR2AandNR2Bexpressionchangesinanteriorcingulatecortexofchronicpancreatitisratsanditssignificance
ZhouWen,GaoJun,LiGuixiang,LiZhaoshen.
DepartmentofGastroenterology,ChanghaiHospital,SecondMilitaryMedicalUniversity,Shanghai200433,China
LiZhaoshen,Email:zhsli@81890.net
ObjectiveTo observe the changes of expression levels of NMDA receptor NR2A and NR2B in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of chronic pancreatitis(CP) rats and explore its roles in the pathogenesis of pain in CP.MethodsMale adult SD rats were randomly divided into CP group, control group and normal group using random number method. CP rat model was established by injecting 8mg/kg dibutyltin dichloride (DBTC) through tail vein. Control group was injected with a equal volume mixture of ethanol and glycerol via tail vein. After 4 weeks, von Frey hair of different sizes (3.85, 5.50, 7.05, 10.4, 17.8 g) were used to stimulate the abdomen of the rats and the percentage of the positive pain response was recorded. Then the rats were sacrificed. The pancreas was collected for pathological examination. NR2A and NR2B subunit mRNA and protein expression in ACC was detected by realtime-PCR and Western Blotting, respectively.ResultsThe success rate of CP model establishment was 60%. As Van Frey hair used to stimulate the ratabdomen increased from 3.85 g to 17.8 g, the percentage of positive pain response increased from (38.33±7.53)% to(73.33±8.17)% in CP group,from (7.80±6.70)% to (34.44±5.27)% in control group,from(6.57±5.48)% to(33.33±5.00)% in normal group, which was increased with the increase of the stimulation intensity. For each stimulation intensity, the percentage of positive pain response in CP group was all obviously higher than those in control and normal group, and the differences were all statistically significant (allP<0.01), but there was no statistical difference between control group and normal group. The protein expression of NR2A of ACC in CP group, control group and normal group was 1.25±0.78, 0.95±0.14 and 0.91±0.09, respectively. The protein of NR2B in three groups were 1.44±0.12, 0.93±0.08 and 0.94±0.04, respectively.NR2A and NR2B protein expressions in the CP group were both significantly higher than those in control group and normal group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). The mRNA expression of NR2A in three groups were 1.43±0.20, 0.80±0.10 and 1.01±0.13, respectively. The mRNA expression of NR2B in three groups were 1.40±0.09, 0.98±0.14 and 0.94±0.05, respectively. The mRNA expressions of NR2A and NR2B in CP group were significantly higher than those in normal and control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01).ConclusionsThe expression of glutamate receptor NR2A and NR2B in ACC were upregulated in CP rats and may be involved in the development of the pain.
Pancreatitis, chronic; Pain; Cerebral cortex; Receptors, N-methyl-D-aspartate
FundprogramNational Natural Science Foundation of China(81270540)
10.3760/cma.j.issn.1674-1935.2017.06.003
200433 上海,第二軍醫大學長海醫院消化內科
李兆申,Email:zhsli@81890.net
國家自然科學基金(81270540)
2017-04-26)
呂芳萍)