Spinal Glial Adaptations Occur in a Minimally Invasive Mouse Model of Endometriosis: Potential Implications for Lesion Etiology and Persistent Pelvic Pain.
Kelsi N DoddsElizabeth A H BeckettSusan F EvansMark Rowland HutchinsonPublished in: Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) (2018)
Glial adaptations within the central nervous system are well known to modulate central sensitization and pain. Recently, it has been suggested that activity of glial-related proinflammatory cytokines may potentiate peripheral inflammation, via central neurogenic processes. However, a role for altered glial function has not yet been investigated in the context of endometriosis, a chronic inflammatory condition in women associated with peripheral lesions, often manifesting with persistent pelvic pain. Using a minimally invasive mouse model of endometriosis, we investigated associations between peripheral endometriosis-like lesions and adaptations in central glial reactivity. Spinal cords (T13-S1) from female C57BL/6 mice with endometriosis-like lesions (ENDO) were imaged via fluorescent immunohistochemistry for the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP; astrocytes) and CD11b (microglia) in the dorsal horn (n = 5). Heightened variability ( P = .02) as well as an overall increase ( P = .04) in the mean area of GFAP immunoreactivity was found in ENDO versus saline-injected control animals. Interestingly, spinal levels showing the greatest alterations in GFAP immunoreactivity appeared to correlate with the spatial location of lesions within the abdominopelvic cavity. A subtle but significant increase in the mean area of CD11b immunostaining was also observed in ENDO mice compared to controls ( P = .02). This is the first study to describe adaptations in nonneuronal, immune-like cells of the central nervous system attributed to the presence of endometriosis-like lesions.
Keyphrases
- neuropathic pain
- spinal cord
- spinal cord injury
- mouse model
- minimally invasive
- high intensity
- chronic pain
- oxidative stress
- type diabetes
- poor prognosis
- quantum dots
- rectal cancer
- atomic force microscopy
- cerebrospinal fluid
- robot assisted
- pregnant women
- long non coding rna
- insulin resistance
- inflammatory response
- ionic liquid
- skeletal muscle
- risk assessment
- high resolution
- amino acid
- small molecule
- living cells