Antinociception induced by galanin in anterior cingulate cortex in rats with acute inflammation

Abstract The present study was performed to explore the role of galanin in nociceptive modulation in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of rats with acute inflammation, and the changes in galanin and galanin receptor 2 (Gal R2) expressions in rats with acute inflammation. Intra-ACC injection of galanin induced antinociception in rats with acute inflammation, the antinociceptive effects induced by galanin were attenuated significantly by intra-ACC injection of the Gal R2 antagonist M871, indicating an involvement of Gal R2 in nociceptive modulation in ACC in rats with acute inflammation. Furthermore, we found that both the galanin mRNA expression and galanin content increased significantly in ACC in rats with acute inflammation than that in normal rats. Moreover, both the mRNA levels of Gal R2 and the content of Gal R2 in ACC increased significantly in rats with acute inflammation than that in normal rats. These results demonstrated that galanin induced antinociception in ACC in rats with acute inflammation. And there were changes in the expression of galanin and Gal R2 in rats with acute inflammation.