A Preterm Rat Model for Pain Studies
Summary
Here, we present a concise protocol for creating a preterm rat model, facilitating research on early postnatal pain management. The method involves performing a cesarean section three days before the expected birth, extracting preterm rat pups via hysterectomy, and integrating them with the biological offspring of a surrogate dam.
Abstract
This research delves into the consequences of consistent pinprick stimulation on preterm offspring to ascertain its long-term implications for pain sensitivity. The primary objective of this protocol was to investigate the impact of neonatal pinprick stimuli on the pain threshold in the later stages of life using a preterm rat model. By establishing this model, we aim to advance the research on understanding and managing early postnatal pain associated with prematurity. The findings of this study indicate that while the baseline thresholds to mechanical stimuli remained unaffected, there was a notable increase in mechanical hypersensitivity following complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) injection in adult rats. Interestingly, compared with male rats, female rats demonstrated heightened inflammatory hypersensitivity. Notably, maternal behavior, the weight of the litters, and the growth trajectory of the offspring remained unchanged by the stimulation. The manifestation of altered nociceptive responses in adulthood after neonatal painful stimuli could be indicative of changes in sensory processing and the functioning of glucocorticoid receptors. However, further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms involved and to develop interventions for the consequences of prematurity and neonatal pain in adults.
Introduction
During the neonatal period, nociceptive pathways undergo significant structural and functional maturation, and the presence of tissue damage and associated pain has profound implications for the development of somatosensory processing1.
Utilizing animal models allows for the controlled experimental manipulation of nonhuman animals, enabling a deeper comprehension of the consequences of neonatal pain on behavior later in life while mitigating potential confounding variables2,3. A commonly observed outcome is the influence of neonatal pain on heightened pain sensitivity in adulthood2,4,5. In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), neonatal pain is a highly prevalent source of stress, with preterm infants typically undergoing a median of 10 invasive procedures per day6. Premature neonates in the NICU encounter a range of stressors, encompassing pain, limited maternal contact, auditory stimuli, and excessive lighting7,8,9.
The utilization of animal models is essential for advancing our understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in these processes and facilitating new advances in this area. In particular, employing preterm animal models in studies can greatly contribute to expanding the body of knowledge on premature infants and provide valuable insights into pain management interventions for preterm neonates10.
Currently, there are a limited number of rodent models that specifically address prematurity, with the majority of these studies primarily investigating the effects of prematurity on the brain11, lung development12, necrotizing enterocolitis13, or immune nutritional studies14. However, none of these models examine the maturation of the pain system, which is particularly vulnerable in cases of prematurity.
Premature birth and its consequences for early postnatal pain management remain crucial areas of study. Therefore, the present work aimed to contribute to the literature by establishing a preterm rat model. This model provides insights into the impact of neonatal pinprick stimuli on pain thresholds during later stages of life, enhancing our understanding of prematurity-related pain.
Protocol
Representative Results
Discussion
In this investigation, we observed that maternal and nonmaternal behaviors of mothers remained unaffected by neonatal pinprick experimentation. This trend extended to nonmaternal behavior as well. Furthermore, the weight gain of preterm litters during the pinprick stimulus period was not significantly different between the control and pinprick groups. Paw withdrawal threshold analyses revealed a noteworthy reduction in both male and female pups from the pinprick and CFA groups compared to those from the control groups. P…
Disclosures
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Federal University of Alfenas – UNIFAL-MG and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brazil (CAPES Fellowship, Laura Pereira Generoso; Natalie Lange Candido and Maria Gabriela Maziero Capello) – Finance Code 001.
Materials
| 0.9% NaCl solution | Concare, Brazil | ||
| Acrylic cages (42 cm × 24 cm × 15 cm) with wire grid floors | Insight Equipamentos, Brazil | ||
| Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) | Sigma Aldrich, Brazil | ||
| Electronic von Frey, | Insight Equipamentos, Brazil | ||
| H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) | ACS Cientifica, Brazil | ||
| Infrared lighting | Carci, Brazil | ||
| Isoflurane (2%) | Cristália, Brazil | ||
| Upright microscope | Nikon, Brazil | ECLIPSE Ei | Microscope with 10x and 40x objective lenses |
References
- Cooper, A. H., Hanmer, J. M., Chapman, V., Hathway, G. J. Neonatal complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced inflammation does not induce or alter hyperalgesic priming or alter adult distributions of C-fibre dorsal horn innervation. Pain Reports. 5 (6), e872 (2020).
- Davis, S. M., Rice, M., Burman, M. A. Inflammatory neonatal pain disrupts maternal behavior and subsequent fear conditioning in a rodent model. Developmental Psychobiology. 62 (1), 88-98 (2020).
- Mooney-Leber, S. M., Brummelte, S. Neonatal pain and reduced maternal care alter adult behavior and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity in a sex-specific manner. Developmental Psychobiology. 62 (5), 631-643 (2020).
- Vilela, F. C., Vieira, J. S., Giusti-Paiva, A., Silva, M. L. D. Experiencing early life maternal separation increases pain sensitivity in adult offspring. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience. 62, 8-14 (2017).
- de Carvalho, R. C., et al. Repeated neonatal needle-prick stimulation increases inflammatory mechanical hypersensitivity in adult rats. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience. 78, 191-197 (2019).
- Carbajal, R., et al. Epidemiology and treatment of painful procedures in neonates in intensive care units. JAMA. 300 (1), 60-70 (2008).
- Cong, X., et al. The impact of cumulative pain/stress on neurobehavioral development of preterm infants in the NICU. Early Human Development. 108, 9-16 (2017).
- König, K., Stock, E. L., Jarvis, M. Noise levels of neonatal high-flow nasal cannula devices – An in-vitro study. Neonatology. 103 (4), 264-267 (2013).
- Newnham, C. A., Inder, T. E., Milgrom, J. Measuring preterm cumulative stressors within the NICU: the Neonatal Infant Stressor Scale. Early Human Development. 85 (9), 549-555 (2009).
- De Clifford-Faugère, G., Aita, M., Arbour, C., Colson, S. Development, evaluation and adaptation of a critical realism informed theory of procedural pain management in preterm infants: The PAIN-Neo theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 79 (6), 2155-2166 (2023).
- Barkhuizen, M., et al. Nitric oxide production in the striatum and cerebellum of a rat model of preterm global perinatal asphyxia. Neurotoxicity Research. 31 (3), 400-409 (2017).
- Remesal, A., et al. Effect of prenatal steroidal inhibition of sPLA2 in a rat model of preterm lung. Pulmonary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 36, 31-36 (2016).
- Corsini, I., et al. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ agonist pioglitazone reduces the development of necrotizing enterocolitis in a neonatal preterm rat model. Pediatric Research. 81 (2), 364-368 (2017).
- Grases-Pintó, B., et al. A preterm rat model for immunonutritional studies. Nutrients. 11 (5), 999 (2019).
- Marcondes, F. K., Bianchi, F. J., Tanno, A. P. Determination of the estrous cycle phases of rats: some helpful considerations. Brazilian Journal of Biology. 62 (4), 609-614 (2002).
- Zhu, M. -. R., Liu, H. -. Y., Liu, P. -. P., Wu, H. Establishment of the patent ductus arteriosus model in preterm rats. Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics. 18, 372-375 (2016).
- Bowers, D., McKenzie, D., Dutta, D., Wheeless, C. R., Cohen, W. R. Growth hormone treatment after cesarean delivery in rats increases the strength of the uterine scar. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 185 (3), 614-617 (2001).
- Wang, J., et al. Whey peptides improve wound healing following caesarean section in rats. The British Journal of Nutrition. 104 (11), 1621-1627 (2010).
- Appleby, C. J., Towner, R. A. Magnetic resonance imaging of pulmonary damage in the term and premature rat neonate exposed to hyperoxia. Pediatric Research. 50 (4), 502-507 (2001).
- Anand, K. J., Coskun, V., Thrivikraman, K. V., Nemeroff, C. B., Plotsky, P. M. Long-term behavioral effects of repetitive pain in neonatal rat pups. Physiology & Behavior. 66 (4), 627-637 (1999).
- Tal, M., Bennett, G. J. Extra-territorial pain in rats with a peripheral mononeuropathy: mechano-hyperalgesia and mechano-allodynia in the territory of an uninjured nerve. Pain. 57 (3), 375-382 (1994).
- Chen, M., et al. Neonatal repetitive pain in rats leads to impaired spatial learning and dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in later life. Scientific Reports. 6 (1), 39159 (2016).
- Costa, H. H., Vilela, F. C., Giusti-Paiva, A. Continuous central infusion of cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 decreases maternal care in lactating rats: consequences for fear conditioning in adulthood males. Behavioural Brain Research. 257, 31-38 (2013).
- Vilela, F. C., Ruginsk, S. G., de Melo, C. M., Giusti-Paiva, A. The CB1 cannabinoid receptor mediates glucocorticoid-induced effects on behavioural and neuronal responses during lactation. Pflugers Archiv: European Journal of Physiology. 465 (8), 1197-1207 (2013).
- Fehrenbacher, J. C., Vasko, M. R., Duarte, D. B. Models of inflammation: Carrageenan- or complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA)-induced edema and hypersensitivity in the rat. Current Protocols in Pharmacology. , (2012).
- de Carvalho, R. C., et al. Effects of repetitive pinprick stimulation on preterm offspring: Alterations in nociceptive responses and inflammatory hypersensitivity in adulthood. Behavioural Brain Research. 454, 114633 (2023).
- Gieré, C., et al. Towards a central origin of nociceptive hypersensitivity in adult rats after a neonatal maternal separation. The European Journal of Neuroscience. 58 (10), 4155-4165 (2023).
- Chang, P., Fabrizi, L., Fitzgerald, M. Early life pain experience changes adult functional pain connectivity in the rat somatosensory and the medial prefrontal cortex. The Journal of Neuroscience. 42 (44), 8284-8296 (2022).
- vanden Hoogen, N. J., et al. Repeated touch and needle-prick stimulation in the neonatal period increases the baseline mechanical sensitivity and postinjury hypersensitivity of adult spinal sensory neurons. Pain. 159 (6), 1166-1175 (2018).
- Butkevich, I. P., Mikhailenko, V. A. Long-term effects of neonatal pain and stress on reactivity of the nociceptive system. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine. 161 (6), 755-758 (2016).
.