Abstract
Aim:
The aim of this study was to examine the activation of neuronal Kv7/KCNQ channels by a novel modified Kv7 opener QO58-lysine and to test the anti-nociceptive effects of QO58-lysine on inflammatory pain in rodent models.
Methods:
Assays including whole-cell patch clamp recordings, HPLC, and in vivo pain behavioral evaluations were employed.
Results:
QO58-lysine caused instant activation of Kv7.2/7.3 currents, and increasing the dose of QO58-lysine resulted in a dose-dependent activation of Kv7.2/Kv7.3 currents with an EC50 of 1.2±0.2 μmol/L. QO58-lysine caused a leftward shift of the voltage-dependent activation of Kv7.2/Kv7.3 to a hyperpolarized potential at V1/2=-54.4±2.5 mV from V1/2=-26.0±0.6 mV. The half-life in plasma (t1/2) was derived as 2.9, 2.7, and 3.0 h for doses of 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg, respectively. The absolute bioavailabilities for the three doses (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg) of QO58-lysine (po) were determined as 13.7%, 24.3%, and 39.3%, respectively. QO58-lysine caused a concentration-dependent reduction in the licking times during phase II pain induced by the injection of formalin into the mouse hindpaw. In the Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain model in rats, oral or intraperitoneal administration of QO58-lysine resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the paw withdrawal threshold, and the anti-nociceptive effect on mechanical allodynia could be reversed by the channel-specific blocker XE991 (3 mg/kg).
Conclusion:
Taken together, our findings show that a modified QO58 compound (QO58-lysine) can specifically activate Kv7.2/7.3/M-channels. Oral or intraperitoneal administration of QO58-lysine, which has improved bioavailability and a half-life of approximately 3 h in plasma, can reverse inflammatory pain in rodent animal models.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by research grants to KeWei WANG from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No 2013CB531302, 2013ZX09103001-015 and 2014ZX09507003-006-004) and to Jin-long QI from the Hebei Province Education Department (No YQ2013033).
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Teng, Bc., Song, Y., Zhang, F. et al. Activation of neuronal Kv7/KCNQ/M-channels by the opener QO58-lysine and its anti-nociceptive effects on inflammatory pain in rodents. Acta Pharmacol Sin 37, 1054–1062 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/aps.2016.33
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/aps.2016.33
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