Ne. Garrett et al., STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETES DECREASES SUBSTANCE-P LEVELS IN EXPERIMENTAL ARTHRITIS IN THE RAT KNEE, Neuroscience letters, 187(3), 1995, pp. 201-204
Diabetic patients with sensory neuropathy are predisposed to disorders
of the musculoskeletal system. It has been postulated that altered ne
urogenic inflammation, involving the neuropeptide substance P, may pla
y a part in this phenomenon. We investigated the effect of streptozoto
cin-induced (STZ) diabetes on the development of an antigenic (mBSA) m
onoarthritis in the rat with particular reference to changes in substa
nce P levels in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and knee joint synovium. We
found that STZ-induced diabetes of 24 weeks duration reduced the subst
ance P content of L(4)/L(5) DRG and knee joint synovial tissue. Induct
ion of mBSA arthritis in diabetic rats resulted in diminished increase
s in synovial substance P and knee joint swelling compared to non-diab
etic arthritic controls. The results show that chronic STZ diabetes re
duces neurogenic inflammatory responses in the rat knee which may rend
er the joint more susceptible to arthritic attack.