Papers of the Week

The relieving role of dezocine in pain after surgery was previously reported, while the potential mechanism was not completely clear. Therefore, the current research probed into the regulatory mechanism of dezocine in pain after surgery. A postoperative pain model was established by performing plantar incision surgery on the juvenile Sprague-Dawley rats. After the rats were treated with dezocine or SC79 (Akt1 activator), the paw withdrawal threshold and paw withdrawal latency of rats were detected to evaluate the mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. After the plantar tissue, dorsal root ganglions, and spinal cord of rats were collected, the expressions of Akt1, p-Akt1, GSK-3β, and p-GSK-3β in the tissues were determined by western blot to evaluate the activation state of the Akt1/GSK-3β pathway. After surgery, the paw withdrawal threshold and paw withdrawal latency of rats were lessened, whereas the ratios of p-Akt1/Akt1 and p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β were augmented in rat plantar tissue, dorsal root ganglions, and spinal cord. After treatment with dezocine alone, the paw withdrawal threshold and paw withdrawal latency of postoperative rats were elevated, but ratios of p-Akt1/Akt1 and p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β were reduced. After co-treatment with dezocine and SC79, SC79 reversed the effects of dezocine on elevating the paw withdrawal threshold and paw withdrawal latency, and reducing the ratios of p-Akt1/Akt1 and p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β in postoperative rats. Dezocine ameliorated the postoperative hyperalgesia in rats via repressing the hyper-action of Akt1/GSK-3β pathway.