Do intrathecal metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonists decrease mechanical hyperalgesia in a rat model of postoperative pain?
Spinal metabotropic glutamate receptors antagonists, antinociceptive in some models of persistent pain, are not necessary for the maintenance of mechanical hyperalgesia in this rat model, which suggests that blockade of spinal metabotropic glutamate receptors may not be useful for the treatment of pain after surgery.
We have characterized a gene cluster consisting of at least 14 expressed Pate gene members, including Acrv1, Sslp1 and a previously uncharacterized gene which we named Pate-X. The genes code for putatively secreted, cysteine-rich proteins with a TFP/Ly-6/uPAR domain. Members of the Pate gene cluster characterized are predominantly expressed in the murine epididymis, not in the testis or prostate, and are regulated by testicular factors. Similar proteins are present in venoms of several reptiles, and they are thought to mediate their effects by regulating certain ion channels, and are thus expected to have a clinical relevance in sperm maturation and epididymal infections.