Afferent fibers mediate the increase of met-enkephalin elicited in rat spinal cord by localized pain.

Met-enkephalin levels were measured in various spinal cord regions of rats chronically suffering from the inflammation of a single paw following a treatment with Freund's adjuvant. The results indicate that chronic localized pain induces a selective increase of met-enkephalin immunoreactive material (ME-IR) in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord segment which receives a direct projection from the inflamed paw. In order to gain information on the functional meaning of these data, either the plexus brachialis or the sciatic nerve were sectioned peripherally before inducing inflammation. Denervation prevented the increase of ME-IR concentration induced by the injection of Freund's adjuvant. Our observations suggest that chronic localized pain in a limb induces a change in ME-IR content which is selective for the spinal cord segment receiving a direct projection from the inflamed paw. This increase depends on an intact innervation.