Impact of Psychological Stress on Pain Perception in an Animal Model of Endometriosis. 2017

Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
1 Physiology Division, Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, PR, USA.

Pain in patients with endometriosis is considered a significant source of stress but does not always correlate with severity of the condition. We have demonstrated that stress can worsen endometriosis in an animal model. Here, we tested the impact of a psychological stress protocol on pain thresholds and pain receptors. Endometriosis was induced in female rats by suturing uterine horn tissue next to the intestinal mesentery. Sham rats had sutures only. Rats were exposed to water avoidance stress for 7 consecutive days or handled for 5 minutes (no stress). Fecal pellets and serum corticosterone (CORT) levels were measured as an index of anxiety. Pain perception was assessed using hot plate and Von Frey tests. Substance P, enkephalin, endomorphin-2, Mu opioid receptor (MOR), and neurokinin-1 receptor expression in the spinal cord were measured by immunohistochemistry. Fecal pellets and CORT were significantly higher in the endo-stress (ES) group than endo-no stress (ENS; P < .01) and sham-no stress groups (SNS; P < .01). The ES rats had more colonic damage ( P < .001 vs SNS; P < .05 vs ENS), vesicle mast cell infiltration ( P < .01 vs ENS), and more severe vesicles than ENS. The ES developed significant hyperalgesia ( P < .05) but stress reversed the allodynic effect caused by endo ( P < .001). The MOR expression was significantly reduced in ENS versus SNS ( P < .05) and more enkephalin expression was found in endo groups. Animals subjected to stress develop more severe symptoms but interestingly stress seems to have beneficial effects on abdominal allodynia, which could be a consequence of the stress-induced analgesia phenomenon.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009842 Oligopeptides Peptides composed of between two and twelve amino acids. Oligopeptide
D010147 Pain Measurement Scales, questionnaires, tests, and other methods used to assess pain severity and duration in patients or experimental animals to aid in diagnosis, therapy, and physiological studies. Analgesia Tests,Analogue Pain Scale,Formalin Test,McGill Pain Questionnaire,Nociception Tests,Pain Assessment,Pain Intensity,Pain Severity,Tourniquet Pain Test,Visual Analogue Pain Scale,Analog Pain Scale,Assessment, Pain,McGill Pain Scale,Visual Analog Pain Scale,Analgesia Test,Analog Pain Scales,Analogue Pain Scales,Formalin Tests,Intensity, Pain,Measurement, Pain,Nociception Test,Pain Assessments,Pain Intensities,Pain Measurements,Pain Questionnaire, McGill,Pain Scale, Analog,Pain Scale, Analogue,Pain Scale, McGill,Pain Severities,Pain Test, Tourniquet,Questionnaire, McGill Pain,Scale, Analog Pain,Scale, Analogue Pain,Scale, McGill Pain,Severity, Pain,Test, Analgesia,Test, Formalin,Test, Nociception,Test, Tourniquet Pain,Tests, Nociception,Tourniquet Pain Tests
D003345 Corticosterone An adrenocortical steroid that has modest but significant activities as a mineralocorticoid and a glucocorticoid. (From Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th ed, p1437)
D004195 Disease Models, Animal Naturally-occurring or experimentally-induced animal diseases with pathological processes analogous to human diseases. Animal Disease Model,Animal Disease Models,Disease Model, Animal
D004715 Endometriosis A condition in which functional endometrial tissue is present outside the UTERUS. It is often confined to the PELVIS involving the OVARY, the ligaments, cul-de-sac, and the uterovesical peritoneum. Endometrioma,Endometriomas,Endometrioses
D004745 Enkephalins One of the three major families of endogenous opioid peptides. The enkephalins are pentapeptides that are widespread in the central and peripheral nervous systems and in the adrenal medulla. Enkephalin
D005260 Female Females
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001007 Anxiety Feelings or emotions of dread, apprehension, and impending disaster but not disabling as with ANXIETY DISORDERS. Angst,Anxiousness,Hypervigilance,Nervousness,Social Anxiety,Anxieties, Social,Anxiety, Social,Social Anxieties
D013116 Spinal Cord A cylindrical column of tissue that lies within the vertebral canal. It is composed of WHITE MATTER and GRAY MATTER. Coccygeal Cord,Conus Medullaris,Conus Terminalis,Lumbar Cord,Medulla Spinalis,Myelon,Sacral Cord,Thoracic Cord,Coccygeal Cords,Conus Medullari,Conus Terminali,Cord, Coccygeal,Cord, Lumbar,Cord, Sacral,Cord, Spinal,Cord, Thoracic,Cords, Coccygeal,Cords, Lumbar,Cords, Sacral,Cords, Spinal,Cords, Thoracic,Lumbar Cords,Medulla Spinali,Medullari, Conus,Medullaris, Conus,Myelons,Sacral Cords,Spinal Cords,Spinali, Medulla,Spinalis, Medulla,Terminali, Conus,Terminalis, Conus,Thoracic Cords

Related Publications

Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
August 2012, Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.),
Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
April 2022, European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology,
Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
September 2021, Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica,
Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
September 2022, Journal of medicine and life,
Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
August 2017, Scientific reports,
Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
August 1975, The American journal of pathology,
Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
January 2020, Neuroscience letters,
Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
January 2022, Frontiers in physiology,
Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
September 2023, International journal of molecular sciences,
Siomara Hernandez, and Myrella L Cruz, and Inevy I Seguinot, and Annelyn Torres-Reveron, and Caroline B Appleyard
February 2023, Journal of medicine and life,
Copied contents to your clipboard!