Peripheral GABAA receptor-mediated signaling facilitates persistent inflammatory hypersensitivity

Unlike in the central nervous system (CNS), in the adult peripheral nervous system (PNS), activation of GABAA receptors (GABAAR) is excitatory because of the relatively high concentration of intracellular chloride in these neurons. Indeed, exogenous GABA and muscimol, a GABAAR agonist, exacerbate acute inflammatory hypersensitivity in rodents. However, it remains unclear whether peripheral GABAAR and the endogenous GABA play an important role in persistent inflammatory hypersensitivity. In this study, we thus investigated how peripheral GABAAR affects pain hypersensitivity by using the complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced persistent inflammatory pain mouse model. We found that intraplantar (i.pl.) administration of GABAAR antagonists, picrotoxin, and 1(S),9(R)-(−)-bicuculline methiodide significantly inhibited both spontaneous nociceptive (paw licking and flinching) behavior and mechanical hypersensitivity in CFA-injected mice at day 3 (D3), but not in naïve mice. Interestingly, CFA-induced mechanical hypersensitivity was significantly reversed by anti-GABA antibody (anti-GABA, i.pl.). In addition, RT-qPCR revealed that glutamate decarboxylase Gad1 (GAD 67) and Gad2 (GAD 65) mRNA expression was also upregulated in the ipsilateral hind paw of CFA-injected mice at D3. Finally, 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one (3α,5α-THP), a selective positive allosteric modulator of GABAAR, produced mechanical hypersensitivity in naïve mice in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, our results indicate that peripheral GABAAR and endogenous GABA, possibly produced by the inflamed tissue, potentiate CFA-induced persistent inflammatory hypersensitivity, suggesting that they can be used as a therapeutic target for alleviating inflammatory pain.