Orofacial inflammatory pain affects the expression of MT1 and NADPH-d in rat caudal spinal trigeminal nucleus and trigeminal ganglion

Very little is known about the role of melatonin in the trigeminal system, including the function of melatonin receptor 1. In the present study, adult rats were injected with formaldehyde into the right vibrissae pad to establish a model of orofacial inflammatory pain. The distribution of melatonin re- ceptor 1 and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase in the caudal spinal trigeminal nucleus and trigeminal ganglion was determined with immunohistochemistry and histo- chemistry. The results show that there are significant differences in melatonin receptor 1 expression and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase expression in the trigeminal ganglia and caudal spinal nucleus during the early stage of orofacial inflammatory pain. Our findings sug- gest that when melatonin receptor 1 expression in the caudal spinal nucleus is significantly reduced, melatonin＇s regulatory effect on pain is attenuated.