Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

CiteULike is a free service for managing and discovering scholarly references - click here to get started.

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Dental Research
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Alavi, A.M.
Right arrow Articles by Burnstock, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Alavi, A.M.
Right arrow Articles by Burnstock, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Immunohistochemical Evidence for ATP Receptors in Human Dental Pulp

A.M. Alavi

Autonomic Neuroscience Institute, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK, xmicron{at}aol.com

G.R. Dubyak

Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA

G. Burnstock

Autonomic Neuroscience Institute, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK

Evidence is accumulating which supports a role for ATP in the initiation of pain by acting on P2X receptors, in particular P2X3, expressed on nociceptive afferent nerve terminals. To investigate whether this receptor plays a role in dental pain, we studied the presence and distribution of P2X3 receptors in human dental pulp, and their co-localization with other neural markers. Pulps were removed from extracted third molars and immunohistochemically stained with an antibody against P2X3 receptors. P2X3 immunoreactive (-ir) nerve fibers were detected in the main body of the pulp, in the sub-odontoblastic plexus of Raschkow, and within the odontoblastic area. Co-localization of the P2X3-ir neurons with neurofilament protein (NF) showed that the majority of the fibers were positive for both NF and P2X3. Double labeling with isolectin B4 (IB4) showed that all P2X3-ir neurons also bind IB4. We conclude that P2X3 receptors are present on both myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers in human dental pulp and may play a role in dental pain mechanisms.

Key Words: P2X receptors • pulp neurons • pain • human • immunohistochemistry

Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 80, No. 2, 476-483 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/00220345010800021501
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JDRHome page
R. Ambalavanar and D. Dessem
Emerging Peripheral Receptor Targets for Deep-tissue Craniofacial Pain Therapies
Journal of Dental Research, March 1, 2009; 88(3): 201 - 211.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Physiol. Rev.Home page
G. Burnstock
Physiology and Pathophysiology of Purinergic Neurotransmission
Physiol Rev, April 1, 2007; 87(2): 659 - 797.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Pharmacol. Rev.Home page
G. Burnstock
Pathophysiology and therapeutic potential of purinergic signaling.
Pharmacol. Rev., March 1, 2006; 58(1): 58 - 86.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurophysiol.Home page
B. Hu, C. Y. Chiang, J. W. Hu, J. O. Dostrovsky, and B. J. Sessle
P2X Receptors in Trigeminal Subnucleus Caudalis Modulate Central Sensitization in Trigeminal Subnucleus Oralis
J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2002; 88(4): 1614 - 1624.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]