Journal Article

Intraneuronal Substance P Contributes to the Severity of Experimental Arthritis

Basbaum, Allan I., Devor, Marshall, Clark, Ron, Moskowitz, Michael A., Levine, Jon D., Helms, Clyde

1984

Overview

There is evidence that substance P is a peptide neurotransmitter of some unmyelinated primary afferent nociceptors and that its release from the peripheral terminals of primary afferent fibers mediates neurogenic inflammation. The investigators examined whether substance P also contributes to the severity of adjuvantinduced arthritis, an inflammatory disease in rats. They found that, in the rat, joints that developed more severe arthritis (ankles) were more densely innervated by substance P--containing primary afferent neurons than were joints that developed less severe arthritis (knees). Infusion of substance P into the knee increased the severity of arthritis; injection of a substance P receptor antagonist did not. These results suggest a significant physiological difference between joints that develop mild and severe arthritis and indicate that release of intraneuronal substance P in joints contributes to the severity of the arthritis.

• Publisher: The American Association for the Advancement of Science,American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subject: Animals / Ankle / Ankle joint / Arthritis / Arthritis - chemically induced / Arthritis - physiopathology / Biological and medical sciences / Diseases of the osteoarticular system / Double-Blind Method / Hindlimb / Inflammation / Inflammatory joint diseases / Innervation / Joint capsule / Joints / Joints - drug effects / Joints - innervation / Joints - physiopathology / Knee joint / Knees / Laboratory rats / Medical sciences / Nervous system / Neurons, Afferent - physiology / Neurotransmitters / Physiological aspects / Rats / Rats as laboratory animals / Substance P - pharmacology / Substance P - physiology / Swelling