Sepsis-induced encephalopathy impairs descending nociceptive pathways in rats

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroim.2020.577198Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Systemic inflammation impairing nociceptive sensibility.

  • Sepsis-associated encephalopathy induces glial activation in PAG and RVM regions.

  • SAE increases pro-inflammatory cytokines in regions associated with nociceptive modulation.

Abstract

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is a significant problem in patients with sepsis, and it is associated with a decrease in cognitive and sensitivity capability induced by systemic inflammation. SAE is implicated in reversible brain damage of several regions related to cognition, emotion, and sensation; however, it is not well established if it could affect brain regions associated with nociceptive modulation. Here were evaluated the nociceptive thresholds in rats with systemic inflammation induced by cecal ligation puncture (CLP). After 24 h of CLP, it was observed an increase in nociceptive threshold in all tests. Periaqueductal gray, rostroventral medulla, critical regions for descending nociceptive modulation, were evaluated and showed enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as glial activation. These results suggest that systemic inflammation could compromise descending facilitatory pathways, impairing nociceptive sensory functioning.

Keywords

SAE
Neuroinflammation
Brain damage
Glial cells
Pain perception

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1

the authors contributed equally to the work