Aconitine - A promising candidate for treating cold and mechanical allodynia in cancer induced bone pain.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS:

Patients suffering from cancer induced bone pain (CIBP) have a poor quality of life that is exacerbated by the lack of effective therapeutic drugs. Monkshood is a flowering plant that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine where it has been used to relieve cold pain. Aconitine is the active component of monkshood, but the molecular mechanism for how this compound reduces pain is unclear.

METHODS AND RESULTS:

In this study, we employed molecular and behavioral experiments to explore the analgesic effect of aconitine. We observed aconitine alleviated cold hyperalgesia and AITC (allyl-isothiocyanate, TRPA1 agonist) induced pain. Interestingly, we found aconitine directly inhibits TRPA1 activity in calcium imaging studies. More importantly, we found aconitine alleviated cold and mechanical allodynia in CIBP mice. Both the activity and expression of TRPA1 in L4 and L5 DRG (Dorsal Root Ganglion) neurons were reduced with the treatment of aconitine in the CIBP model. Moreover, we observed aconiti radix (AR) and aconiti kusnezoffii radix (AKR), both components of monkshood that contain aconitine, alleviated cold hyperalgesia and AITC induced pain. Furthermore, both AR and AKR alleviated CIBP induced cold allodynia and mechanical allodynia.

CONCLUSIONS:

Taken together, aconitine alleviates both cold and mechanical allodynia in cancer induced bone pain via the regulation of TRPA1. This research on the analgesic effect of aconitine in cancer induced bone pain highlights a component of a traditional Chinese medicine may have clinical applications for pain.

• Authors: Xiang Jin, Jiafei Cheng, Qing Zhang, Haiwang Ji, Chan Zhu, Yan Yang, Yuan Zhou, Guang Yu, Changming Wang, Zongxiang Tang
• Journal: Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie (Biomed Pharmacother) Vol. 161 Pg. 114284 (May 2023) ISSN: 1950-6007 [Electronic] France
• PMID: 36868017 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Chemical References

• 2,3,4-tri-O-acetylarabinopyranosyl isothiocyanate
• Aconitine
• TRPA1 Cation Channel
• Analgesics

Topics

• Mice
• Animals
• Hyperalgesia (metabolism)
• Aconitine (adverse effects)
• Quality of Life
• TRPA1 Cation Channel (metabolism)
• Pain (drug therapy, etiology, metabolism)
• Neoplasms
• Cancer Pain (drug therapy, etiology)
• Analgesics (adverse effects)