The Role of TRPV4/P38 signaling pathway in diabetic neuropathic pain

Jianping Zhong¹, Zhen Zeng^2*

^¹Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai No. 8 People's Hospital, shanghai 200235, China - ²Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai No. 6 People's Hospital, shanghai 200233, China

Introduction: Diabetic neuropathy is one of the most common and the most disabling of diabetes mellitus chronic complications. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV4) in diabetic neuralgia and its potential mechanism. 

Materials and methods: Male Wistar rats (180-200g) were used to construct diabetic models using streptozotocin (STZ). Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of protein TRPV4, P38 and p-P38. The assessment of mechanical allodynia was evaluated using paw withdrawal threshold (PWT). The assessment of thermal cold allodynia was evaluated using paw withdrawal latency (PWL). 

Results: Our results showed that the mechanical and thermal cold pain thresholds of STZ-induced diabetic rats (DM group) were both significantly lower than that of the control group from the week-2. Inhibitory of TRPV4 was accompanied with the decreased expression of p38 and P-p38 protein. Inhibition of TRPV4 had no effect on serum glucose, lipid parameters and body weight in diabetic rats, while had no effect on serum glucose, lipid parameters and body weight in diabetic rats. 

Conclusion: Our data revealed that TRPV4 plays an important role in regulating neuropathic pain in diabetic rats, providing more evidence for the treatment of peripheral neuropathy in clinical diabetic patients, and providing new insights for its treatment.