Peptidergic nature of nociception-related projections from the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord

Abstract Hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) projections to the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) are related to antinociception. Several neuropeptides from this nucleus could be released to the spinal cord after nociceptive stimuli. Indeed, it has been shown that enkephalins, oxytocin and vasopressin could be released at this level. Although the antinociceptive effects of these neuropeptides are well studied, little is known about the potential interaction between these molecules. In this study, we provide anatomical evidence of the interaction between oxytocin (OT), vasopressin (AVP), dynorphin (DYN) and enkephalin (ENK) along the PVN projections to the spinal dorsal horn at L3 level. A retrograde tracer (True Blue ® ) microinjected at L3 in the SDH and immunofluorescence with antibodies against OT, AVP, DYN and ENK were used. The experiments showed different levels of peptide immunoreactivity distribution along the rostro-caudal area of the PVN. A high percentage of co-localizations between two of the peptides (OT-AVP, OT-DYN, AVP-ENK, DYN-ENK) were present along the PVN. The following co-localizations occupied 4.76–9.62% of the total PVN area. PVN projections to the SDH at L3 level showed similar results. Our results show that different antinociceptive peptides may be interacting with each other to evoke PVN antinociceptive effects as part of the endogenous system of nociceptive modulation.