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Anesth Analg 2006;103:738-741
© 2006 International Anesthesia Research Society
doi: 10.1213/01.ane.0000230601.64098.cc

ANALGESIA

The Involvement of the Nociceptin Receptor in the Antinociceptive Action of Nitrous Oxide

Shugaku Himukashi, MD*, Hiroshi Takeshima, PhD{dagger}, Sahoko Koyanagi, MD*, Tsutomu Shichino, MD*, and Kazuhiko Fukuda, MD*

From the *Department of Anesthesia, Kyoto University Hospital; and {dagger}Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Shugaku Himukashi, MD, Department of Anesthesia, Kyoto University Hospital, 54 Shogoin-Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. Address e-mail to himukash{at}kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp.

Abstract

Nociceptin and its receptor are widely expressed in the central nervous system and are involved in the modulation of nociception. We have previously reported that the minimum anesthetic alveolar concentrations for volatile anesthetics do not differ between nociceptin receptor knockout (NOP–/–) mice and wild-type (NOP+/+) mice. In the present study, we investigated whether the nociceptin system is involved in the antinociceptive action of nitrous oxide. Using the acetic acid-induced writhing test, we showed that nitrous oxide had significantly less analgesic action in NOP–/– mice than in NOP+/+ mice. Furthermore, when anesthetized with a mixture of halothane and nitrous oxide (70%), intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid resulted in an increase of plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone concentrations in NOP–/– mice but not in NOP+/+ mice. An immunohistochemical study showed that nitrous oxide exposure induced c-Fos expression in the spinal cords of NOP+/+ mice but not in those of NOP–/– mice. These results together suggest that the antinociceptive action of nitrous oxide is, at least partly, mediated by the nociceptin system.






Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999 HighWire Press
Copyright © 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society.