Evidence for involvement of nitric oxide in pretectal analgesia in rat

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Abstract
The study was undertaken to evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in pretectal (PTN)-induced analgesia in rats. Microinjection of varying concentrations of l-arginine (1 nM to 1 μM) produced a quick, long-lasting and concentration-dependent analgesic response, whereas similar concentrations of d-arginine failed to produce analgesia. Moreover pretreatment with N -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME, 1 μM) significantly prevented l-arginine induced analgesia. Further, pretreatment of animals with methylene blue, a known guanylate cyclase inhibitor also prevented the development of analgesia. Our study suggests that l-arginine caused production of NO, which in turn activates pretectal analgesic system involving cyclic GMP.

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