| Institution: | 1. State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China;2. Department of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China;1. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 103 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110016, China;2. Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Houston, 4849 Calhoun Road, Houston, TX 77204-5037, USA;3. Department of Pharmaceutical and Environmental Health Sciences, Texas Southern University, 3100 Cleburne Street, Houston, TX 77004, USA;1. College of Animal Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jiangsu Agri-animal Husbandry Vocational College, Taizhou 225300, PR China;2. State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Department of Chinese Medicines Analysis, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, PR China |
| Abstract: | Background and purposePrimary dysmenorrhea is the most common gynaecologic problem in menstruating women and is characterized by spasmodic uterine contraction and pain symptoms associated with inflammatory disturbances. Paeonol is an active phytochemical component that has shown anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects in several animal models. The aim of this study was to explore whether paeonol is effective against dysmenorrhea and to investigate the potential mechanism of cannabinoid receptor signalling.Experimental approachDysmenorrhea was established by injecting oestradiol benzoate into female mice. The effects of paeonol on writhing time and latency, uterine pathology and inflammatory mediators were explored. Isolated uterine smooth muscle was used to evaluate the direct effect of paeonol on uterine contraction.Key resultsThe oral administration of paeonol reduced dysmenorrhea pain and PGE2 and TNF-α expression in the uterine tissues of mice, and paeonol was found to be distributed in lesions of the uterus. Paeonol almost completely inhibited oxytocin-, high potassium- and Ca2+-induced contractions in isolated uteri. Antagonists of CB2R (AM630) and the MAPK pathway (U0126), but not of CB1R (AM251), reversed the inhibitory effect of paeonol on uterine contraction. Paeonol significantly blocked L-type Ca2+ channels and calcium influx in uterine smooth muscle cells via CB2R. Molecular docking results showed that paeonol fits well with the binding site of CB2R.Conclusions and implicationsPaeonol partially acts through CB2R to restrain calcium influx and uterine contraction to alleviate dysmenorrhea in mice. These results suggest that paeonol has therapeutic potential for the treatment of dysmenorrhea. |
