Salmon calcitonin ameliorates migraine pain through modulation of CGRP release and dural mast cell degranulation in rats.

The exact mechanism of migraine pathophysiology still remains unclear due to the complex nature of migraine pain. Salmon calcitonin (SC) exhibits antinociceptive effects in the treatment of various pain conditions. In this study, we explored the mechanisms underlying the analgesic effect of salmon calcitonin on migrane pain using glyceryltrinitrate (GTN)-induced model of migraine and ex vivo meningeal preparations in rats. Rats were intraperitoneally administered saline, GTN (10 mg/kg), vehicle, saline + GTN, SC (50 μg/kg) + GTN, and SC alone. Also, ex vivo meningeal preparations were applied topically 100 μmol/L GTN, 50 μmol/L SC, and SC + GTN. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) contents of plasma, trigeminal neurons and superfusates were measured using enzyme-immunoassays. Dural mast cells were stained with toluidine blue. c-fos neuronal activity in trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) sections were determined by immunohistochemical staining. The results showed that GTN triggered the increase in CGRP levels in plasma, trigeminal ganglion neurons and ex vivo meningeal preparations. Likewise, GTN-induced c-fos expression in TNC. In in vivo experiments, GTN caused dural mast cell degranulation, but similar effects were not seen in ex vivo experiments. Salmon calcitonin administration ameliorated GTN-induced migraine pain by reversing the increases induced by GTN. Our findings suggested that salmon calcitonin could alleviate the migraine-like pain by modulating CGRP release at different levels including the generation and conduction sites of migraine pain and mast cell behaviour in the dura mater. Therefore salmon calcitonin may be a new therapeutic choice in migraine pain relief.