Antinociceptive action of intrathecally administered IGF-I and the expression of its receptor in rat spinal cord

mRNA transcripts for insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and its receptor are expressed in the lumbar region of the spinal cord. Accordingly, we examined the involvement of IGF-I in nociceptive transmission. An intrathecal injection of IGF-I (200-1000 ng) produced a dose-dependent elevation in nociceptive threshold as indicated by tail flick/withdrawal latency. In contrast, comparable doses of insulin had no significant effect. The time-response curve (15-75 min) revealed that the peak for IGF-I's antinociceptive effect is attained at 30 min. Our data provide evidence that the IGF-I system within the spinal cord may serve as a target for novel analgesics.