Allodynic behavior was present 4 days after injury and for up to 5 weeks later (experiment duration). The intracisternal and intraperitoneal administration of bromocriptine (D2R-agonist) decreased allodynic behavior in the lesioned

animals. Furthermore, the injection of bromocriptine intracisternally, after that of systemic sulpiride, had no effect on the allodynia observed, revealing the clear implication Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of D2R receptors locally in allodynic behavior. Hence, the antiallodynic effect of bromocriptine was inhibited by D2-type receptor antagonist sulpiride. This result clearly demonstrated the implication of dopamine in trigeminal pain. To support the implication of a segmental mechanism in the neuropathic pain symptom Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical observed in DA depleted animals, the expressions of PKCγ, which reveal central sensitization (Malmberg et al. 1997), and those of pERK1/2, which constitute a molecular hallmark of pain sensation (Ji et al. 1999), were explored in the MDH. In this study, we highlight significant upregulation in the expression of both PKCγ and pERK1/2 in the MDH of 6-OHDA-lesioned rats when compared to shams. Moreover, the number of pERK1/2-positive cells

was significantly higher in the ipsilateral MDH of the stimulated orofacial region when compared to the contralateral nonstimulated region. pERK1/2 was also expressed by cells of lamina I which normally Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical convey nociceptive stimuli. Moreover, these markers were present in distinct cell subtypes. The segmental implication of D2R is also highlighted by the administration of bromocriptine which decreased the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical number of pERK1/2 cells and the expression of PKCγ within the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical MDH. The present data provided clear evidence of the implication of the GSK126 manufacturer dopaminergic nigrostriatal circuitry in the DMA observed in DA-depleted rats and demonstrated for the first time that nonnoxious stimulus can trigger noxious response in rats with a bilateral

nigrostriatal pathway lesion. However, we do not exclude the participation of the VTA (mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways; Magnusson and Fisher 2000; Wood 2006; Sogabe et al. 2013) in the DMA as our lesion targeted also this structure. Dopamine Bay 11-7085 and nociception Rats with a bilateral dopaminergic nigrostriatal lesion demonstrated a significant decrease in TH labeling in the VTA, the striatum, and the SNc. Also noted was a significant decrease in the number of TH-positive cells within the SNc, as reported previously (Paillé et al. 2007; Ouachikh et al. 2013; Zengin-Toktas et al. 2013). The bilateral dopamine-depleted animals presented a severe body movement alteration (rotarod) when compared to the controls. These rats were able to move (Paillé et al. 2007; Ouachikh et al. 2013; Zengin-Toktas et al. 2013) and perform all the movements required for the Vos test.