Upregulation of BDNF and Interleukin-1ß in rat spinal cord following noxious hind paw stimulation

•Noxious hindpaw stimulation in the rat upregulates BDNF and IL-1ß in spinal cord.•The upregulation of the neurotrophic factor and of the cytokine was time-dependent.•Pretreatment with morphine or minocycline had only a moderate inhibitory effect. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protein levels of BDNF and IL-1ß in the lumbar dorsal horn of the rat by Western blot analysis following a noxious thermal hind paw stimulation. Ten min, 1h and 3h after the combined chemical and thermal stimulation an up to 2-fold increase in BDNF and Il-1ß protein expression was observed in the lumbar dorsal spinal cord. A pretreatment with the opioid analgesic morphine or the glial cell activation inhibitor minocycline partly attenuated protein expression. The present findings indicate that the BDNF and IL-1ß induction within the dorsal horn may be linked to the development of hyperalgesia, and that opioid analgesics and probably inhibitors of glial cell activation can prevent sensitization in the pain pathway at spinal level.