Antinociceptive effect of Valeriana fauriei regulates BDNF signaling in an animal model of fibromyalgia

Abstract

The genus Valeriana has been widely used in popular medicine for centuries, to treat sleep disorders, anxiety, epilepsy and insomnia. Recent studies have focused on the novel pharmacological effects of Valeriana fauriei Briq. (VF) species. Previous studies have attempted to determine the pharmacological functions of Valeriana in various human diseases, particularly with regards to its neuroprotective effects, and its ability to reduce pain and stress. The present study constructed an animal model of fibromyalgia (FM), which was induced by intermittent cold stress with slight modification. Subsequently, the study aimed to determine whether VF exerts antinociceptive effects on the FM‑like model following oral administration of VF extracts. The effects of VF extracts on the FM model were investigated by analyzing behavioral activity, including pain, and detecting protein expression. In the behavioral analysis, the results of a nociception assay indicated that the pain threshold was significantly decreased in the FM group. Subsequently, western blotting and immunohistochemical analyses of the hippocampus demonstrated that the protein expression levels of brain‑derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and phosphorylated‑cAMP response element‑binding protein were downregulated in the FM group. Conversely, VF restored these levels. These results suggested that the effects of VF extract on a model of FM may be associated with its modulatory effects on the BDNF signaling pathway in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex. In conclusion, the mechanism underlying the protective effects of VF as a therapeutic agent against FM may involve the BDNF signaling pathway.

The Fibromyalgia Pain Experience: A Scoping Review of the Preclinical Evidence for Replication and Treatment of the Affective and Cognitive Pain Dimensions

“…Review of the literature for the intermittent cold-stress model of FMS-like pain in animals identified 4 studies that investigated associated alterations in affect (Table 5). Although the current literature is limited, current data supports the model's ability to induce depression-like behaviors in animals as has been measured in TST [137], the evasion test [138], and FST [139]. However, one study did fail to find significant differences is TST behavior [33].…”

“…Within these limited studies, treatments for significantly improving depression-like behaviors in animals produced by the cold stress model have been identified [137][138][139]. Gabapentin was identified as having improved evasion behaviors, implicative of improvement in depression-like behaviors, alongside improvement in evoked pain measures within animals subjected to the cold stress model [138].…”

Plant Species of Sub-Family Valerianaceae—A Review on Its Effect on the Central Nervous System

“…The effects of V. adscendens extracts on the central nervous system have been associated with the interaction with serotoninergic, dopaminergic, and noradrenergic receptors [ 95 ]. On the other hand, studies from Lee et al [ 39 ] suggest that the antinociceptive effects of V. fauriei can be related to modulatory effects on the BDNF signaling pathway in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex. Recently, Choi et al [ 96 ] demonstrated that this species exerts antidepressant effects through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects by inhibiting BDNF expression.…”

Isolation and biological characteristic evaluation of a novel type of cartilage stem/progenitor cell derived from Small‑tailed Han sheep embryos

“…RT-quantitative PcR (RT-qPcR) was performed using the SYBR ® Premix Ex Taq™ II kit (Takara Bio, Inc.) on an Applied Biosystems QuantStudio™ 6 Flex thermocycler (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.), and the relative gene expression was normalized to GAPdH expression, and was calculated using the 2 -ΔΔcq relative quantification method (26). Statistical analysis of each group included three independent samples and the intergroup difference was analyzed via Student's t-test (27).…”