EFFECTS INDUCED BY CYSTEAMINE ON CHEMICALLY-INDUCED NOCICEPTION IN MICE

The effects were investigated of cysteamine - a well known somatostatin depletor - on the pain induced by chemical stimuli in mice. Cysteamine injected intraperitoneally 4 h before the test at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg reduced the second phase of the licking response which was induced by formalin injected into the hind paw. Furthermore, cysteamine administered at the doses of 10, 50 and 100 mg/kg reduced the writhing induced by acetic acid. Naloxone, yohimbine and CGP 35348 administered in cysteamine-pretreated animals were not able to change the cysteamine antinociceptive effects in the formalin test. Intrathecally injected somatostatin was able to revert the cysteamine antinociceptive effects in the second phase of the formalin test and in the writhing test, whereas intracerebroventricularly injected somatostatin reduced the antinociceptive effects induced by cysteamine in the second phase of the formalin test. Intrathecally injected cyclo(7-aminoheptanoyl-Phe-D-Trp-Lys-Thr[Bzl]) - a reported somatostatin antagonist - increased cysteamine antinociceptive effects in the second phase of the formalin test and in the writhing test. These results suggest that somatostatin is involved in the effects of cysteamine on the nociceptive threshold.