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Nociceptor stimulation and PGE release by capsaicin

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Summary

  1. 1.

    Intraarterial injection of capsaicin (threshold dose 0.3 μg) into the isolated perfused rabbit ear causes a dose-dependent reflex fall in blood pressure by stimulation of chemosensitive nociceptors.

  2. 2.

    Infusion of capsaicin (1 and 10 μg/ml) into the isolated rabbit ear dose-dependently stimulates prostaglandin biosynthesis, equally in innervated and chronically denervated preparations, therefore mainly in extraneuronal tissue. The capsaicin-induced prostaglandin E release is dependent on the presence of extracellular Ca2+.

  3. 3.

    The nociceptive reflex fall in blood pressure induced by i.a. injection of bradykinin is progressively enhanced under infusion of 1 μg/ml capsaicin whereas that induced by acetylcholine is not. Its enhancement is explained by the capsaicin-induced increased amount of prostaglandin E at the nociceptor sites.

  4. 4.

    Infusion of 10 μg/ml capsaicin renders the nociceptors insensitive to effects of bradykinin and acetylcholine.

  5. 5.

    Although the stimulation of nociceptors by capsaicin in a small dose includes the release of prostaglandin E from the surrounding tissue, it cannot be said whether a prostaglandin-mediated mechanism is also involved in the long lasting functional impairment of chemosensitive fibres induced by high doses of capsaicin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Experimentelle und Klinische Pharmakologie der Universität Graz, Universitätsplatz 4, A-8010, Graz, Austria

    Heinz Juan, Fred Lembeck, Susanne Seewann & Ursula Hack

  2. Kommission für Schmerzforschung der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Universitätsplatz 4, A-8010, Graz, Austria

    Heinz Juan, Fred Lembeck, Susanne Seewann & Ursula Hack

Authors
  1. Heinz Juan
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  2. Fred Lembeck
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  3. Susanne Seewann
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  4. Ursula Hack
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Juan, H., Lembeck, F., Seewann, S. et al. Nociceptor stimulation and PGE release by capsaicin. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 312, 139–143 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00569722

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00569722

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