TRP Channels and ASICs Mediate Mechanical Hyperalgesia in Models of Inflammatory Muscle Pain and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

The roles of ion channels in sensory neurons were examined in experimental models of muscle pain in the rat. Rats were injected with 50 microl of 4% carrageenan or subjected to an eccentric exercise (ECC) of the gastrocnemius muscle (GM). The Randall-Selitto and von Frey tests were performed on the calves to evaluate mechanical hyperalgesia of the muscle. The changes in expression of four genes and proteins of ion channels in dorsal root ganglia were examined using quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Effects of antagonists to transient receptor potential (TRP) channels and acid sensing ion channels (ASICs) on the mechanical hyperalgesia induced by carrageenan injection or ECC were evaluated. The mechanical hyperalgesia was observed 6-24h after carrageenan injection and 1-3 days after ECC in the Randall-Selitto test. Infiltrations of the inflammatory cells in the GM were seen in carrageenan-injected animals but not in those subjected to ECC. Expressions of genes and proteins in sensory neurons showed no changes. Intramuscular injection of antagonists to TRPV1 showed an almost complete suppressive effect on ECC-induced muscle hyperalgesia but not a carrageenan-induced one. Antagonists to TRP channels and ASICs showed suppressive effects for both carrageenan- and ECC-induced muscle hyperalgesia. The carrageenan injection and ECC models are useful models of acute inflammatory pain and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), respectively, and the time course and underlying etiology might be different. TRP channels and ASICs are closely related to the development of muscle mechanical hyperalgesia, and TRPV1 is involved in ECC-induced DOMS.