Intraneuronal substance P contributes to the severity of experimental arthritis

Jon D. Levine*, R. O.N. Clark, Marshall Devor, Clyde Helms, Michael A. Moskowitz, Allan I. Basbaum

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

470 Scopus citations

Abstract

There is evidence that substance P is a peptide neurotransmitter of some unmyelinated primary afferent nociceptors and that its release from the peripheral terminals of primary afferent fibers mediates neurogenic inflammation. The investigators examined whether substance P also contributes to the severity of adjuvantinduced arthritis, an inflammatory disease in rats. They found that, in the rat, joints that developed more severe arthritis (ankles) were more densely innervated by substance P-containing primary afferent neurons than were joints that developed less severe arthritis (knees). Infusion of substance P into the knee increased the severity of arthritis; injection of a substance P receptor antagonist did not. These results suggest a significant physiological difference between joints that develop mild and severe arthritis and indicate that release of intraneuronal substance P in joints contributes to the severity of the arthritis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)547-549
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume226
Issue number4674
DOIs
StatePublished - 1984
Externally publishedYes

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