Evaluation and Characterization of Mouse Scratching Behavior by a New Apparatus, MicroAct

Inagaki, Nobuya; Igeta, Katsuhiro; Shiraishi, Noriko; Kim, J.F.; Nagao, Masafumi; Nakamura, Nobuaki; Nagai, Hiroichi

doi:10.1159/000069755

Cited by 76 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The electric current induced in the coil by the movement of magnets attached to the hind paws was amplified and recorded. 17) Vascular Permeability of the Skin in Mice The increase in vascular permeability was assessed as described by Inagaki et al 18) After the intradermal injection of 0.5 mg/ 0.02 ml compound 48/80 or 10 nmol/0.02 ml histamine into the rostral part of the back, 1.25 mg of Evans blue was intravenously injected into each animal. The mice were sacrificed 30 min after elicitation of the cutaneous reactions, and the reaction site was excised.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibitory Effects of Moutan Cortex on Immediate Allergic Reactions

Jiang

Nakano

Yatsuzuka

et al. 2007

Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin

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Atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, food allergy and asthma are classified as type I allergy. Atopic dermatitis is a common disorder in the population, and recent studies have shown that the disease is increasing, its prevalence increasing by 2-to 3-fold during the past three decades in industrialized countries, 1) and the reported prevalence among children up to the age of 16 ranges between 15% and 30% in Europe. 2)Atopic dermatitis is a condition manifesting eczema, serous papules, scaling and crust and in severe cases, erosion of the affected skin. Itching, a sensation causing the urge to scratch, is the most significant outcome of atopic dermatitis. This unpleasant sensation stimulates scratching of the lesioned skin, thus worsening the lesions.3) In the treatment of atopic dermatitis, anti-histamine and anti-allergy drugs are generally used, but they do not allay a severe itching sensation in atopic dermatitis. 4,5) Corticosteroid is also used as external medicine to relieve cutaneous pruritics, but it has many adverse effects including skin atrophy, rosacea, acne, purpura and so on 6) ; therefore, it is worth developing new treatment drugs besides the generally used medicines.Traditional Chinese medicines have a long history dating back several thousands of years. There are many herb medicines which have been applied to cutaneous disease and some traditional Chinese herbal medicines are prescribed for dermatitis.7) Among these, Moutan Cortex, the root bark of Paeonia suffruticosa ANDREWS, is a widely used drug for cutaneous disease in traditional Chinese medicine. 8,9) In association with this, Moutan Cortex is effective in cardiovascular and female genital disease. 10,11) In addition, Moutan Cortex has been described to show analgesic, sedative, antiinflammatory and antimicrobial properties 12) ; however, we have as yet very little information as to whether Moutan Cortex is effective in experimental allergy models.In the present study, therefore, we demonstrated the inhibitory effects of ethanol extract from Moutan Cortex on experimental immediate allergic reactions both in vitro and in vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS AnimalsFemale ICR mice (6-10 weeks old) and male Wistar rats (7 weeks old) were obtained from Japan SLC, Inc., Shizuoka, Japan. The animals were housed in an airconditioned room maintained at 24Ϯ2°C with a relative humidity of 55Ϯ15%. They were given standard laboratory rodent food chow (Oriental Yeast, Tokyo) and water ad libitum. All procedures involving animals were conducted in accordance with the Guidelines for Animal Experiments at Okayama University Advanced Science Research Center. Chemicals and ReagentsThe following reagents were used in this study and their sources are shown in parentheses: histamine dihydrochloride (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.), compound 48/80 (Sigma) and Evans blue (Wako, Tokyo, Japan). Compound 48/80 and histamine were dissolved in physiological saline and administered intradermally. The drugs used were azelastine hydrochloride (Sigma), ketotifen fumarate (Sigma)...

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Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibitory Effects of Moutan Cortex on Immediate Allergic Reactions

Jiang

Nakano

Yatsuzuka

et al. 2007

Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin

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“…The electric current induced in the coil by the movement of magnets implanted to the hind paws was amplified and recorded. The number of scratching behaviors was measured using a new device, MicroAct (Neuroscience, Tokyo), which automatically detects and evaluates the scratching behavior of mice (25,26). The MicroAct Parameters for detecting waves were threshold: 0.1 V, event gap: 0.2 s, minimum duration: 1.5 s, maximum frequency: 20 Hz, and minimum frequency: 2 Hz.…”

Section: Evaluation Of Inhibitory Effects Of Anti-ngf Antibody On Estmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Anti-Nerve Growth Factor Antibody on Symptoms in the NC/Nga Mouse, an Atopic Dermatitis Model

2005

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Abstract. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is an important substance in the skin, where it can modulate nerve maintenance and repair. However, the direct link between NGF and pruritic disease such as atopic dermatitis is not yet fully understood. To determine whether NGF plays a major role in atopic dermatitis and in the development or maintenance of skin lesions, we performed a study using NC / Nga mice and compared mice with and without skin lesions. Our examinations of the NC / Nga mice sought to detect nerve fibers in the epidermis, measured serum and skin NGF content, and observed skin NGF by immunohistochemistry staining. We also examined the effects of anti-NGF antibody on dermatitis symptoms in NC / Nga mice. In these mice, nerve fibers were significantly increased in the epidermis of lesioned skin, and the NGF content of the serum and skin was significantly elevated. Anti-NGF antibodies significantly inhibited the development and proliferation of skin lesions and epidermal innervation and significantly inhibited any growth in scratching but did not ameliorate scratching already developed. Our findings suggest that NGF plays important roles in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions and that inhibiting the physiological effects of NGF or suppressing increased NGF production may prevent or even moderate the symptoms of atopic dermatitis.

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“…Inagaki et al planted a metal marker under the skin of a laboratory animal N. Inagaki (2003) and reported the benefits of MicroAct. It is a quantitative scratching analysis system that utilizes magnetic field fluctuations when the metal marker vibrates violently as a result of scratching.…”

Section: State Of the Artmentioning

confidence: 99%