Abstract
Pain is one of the most frequent causes for patients to seek medical care. It interferes with daily functioning and affects the quality of life of the patient. There is a clear need to investigate nonopioid or non-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug alternatives for the treatment of pain. In this study, we determined the effect of acute pre- and posttreatment with pramipexole (PPX), a dopamine D2/D3 selective agonist, on formalin 1%-induced acute and long-lasting nociceptive behavior sensitivity in rats. Moreover, we sought to investigate whether the antiallodynic and antihyperalgesic effect induced by PPX was mediated through the nuclear factor-κB (NF-kB) signaling pathway. Moreover, acute systemic pretreatment with PPX (1 and 3 mg/kg, ip) suppressed the formalin-induced nociceptive behavior during both phases of the formalin test and the development of formalin-induced secondary mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia in both paws. Acute systemic posttreatment with PPX (3 mg/kg, ip) reverted the formalin-induced long-lasting secondary mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia. Furthermore, PPX inhibits the protein expression of NF-κB-p65 and the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β in the spinal cord of animals with secondary mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia induced by formalin. These data suggest that PPX has a potential role in producing anti-inflammatory activity. Moreover, the antiallodynic and antihyperalgesic effects induced by PPX can be mediated through the NF-kB signaling pathway.