The gamma-aminobutyric acid type B (GABA) receptor may participate in the development of diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP). BHF177 serves as a positive allosteric modulator of the GABA receptor. In the current study, we sought to study the role of the BHF177-GABA receptor in DNP and its underlying mechanism. Streptozotocin was adopted to induce a rat model of DNP, followed by determination of the paw withdrawal threshold (PWT), paw withdrawal latency (PWL), and glucose level. The effect of BHF177 on DNP by regulating the GABA receptor in vivo was determined by the injection of BHF177 and/or CGP46381 (a GABA receptor antagonist) into rat models of DNP. Hippocampal neuronal cells were isolated and cultured, and the neurons and DNP model rats were treated with activators of PKC (PMA), CaMKII (CaCl), or ERK1/2 (EGF) to study the role of GABA receptors in DNP via regulation of the NR2B-PKC-CaMKII-ERK-CREB pathway. BHF177 suppressed DNP symptoms by activating the GABA receptors, as evidenced by increased PWT and PWL of DNP rats and the increased number of neurons expressing the GABA receptor, but this effect was reversed by CGP46381 treatment. BHF177 treatment markedly repressed PKC, CaMKII, p-ERK1/2, and p-CREB expressions in the rat DNP model, but these suppressive effects were abrogated by treatments with PMA, CaCl, or EGF treatment, respectively. To sum up, BHF177 suppresses DNP symptoms by blocking the PKC/CaMKII/ERK1/2/CREB signaling pathway to activate the GABA receptors.
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