Atorvastatin attenuates NF-κB activation in trigeminal nucleus caudalis in a rat model of migraine

• Published in: Neuroscience letters Vol. 465; no. 1; pp. 61 - 65
• Main Authors: Yin, Zhao, Fang, Yannan, Ren, Li, Wang, Xiaojuan, Zhang, Aiwu, Lin, Jianwen, Li, Xianliang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 06-11-2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Atorvastatin; Biological and medical sciences; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Migraine; NF-κB; Nitroglycerin (NTG); Trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC); Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Atorvastatin; NF-κB; Nitroglycerin (NTG); Migraine; Trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC); Animal model; Rat; Rodentia; Central nervous system; Encephalon; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Animal; Nitroglycerin; Trigeminal nucleus; Transcription factor NFκB
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.08.081

Nitroglycerin-induced NF-κB activation in trigeminal nucleus caudalis is believed to be partly involved in the pathogenesis of migraine. Atorvastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, is thought to have pleiotropic effects in various neurologic diseases. Moreover, there are several lines of evidences that atorvastatin inhibits NF-κB activation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Thus, this study aims to explore whether atorvastatin attenuates NF-κB activation in trigeminal nucleus caudalis in a nitroglycerin-induced migraine model. A significant increase in nuclear content of p65, an indicator of NF-κB activation, was detected in trigeminal nucleus caudalis in rats following injection with nitroglycerin. However, the nitroglycerin-induced NF-κB activation in trigeminal nucleus caudalis was attenuated by pretreatment with atorvastatin in a dose-dependent fashion. These results suggest that atorvastatin may be a novel and promising candidate for future treatment or prophylaxis of migraine via attenuating activation of NF-κB in trigeminal nucleus caudalis.