Endothelin A receptor in nociceptors is essential for persistent mechanical pain in a chronic pancreatitis of mouse model

Figure 1 Characterization of endothelin A receptor conditional knockout mouse line. A: Polymerase chain reaction genotyping of SNS-Cre mice (Cre band: Approximately 350 bp); B Polymerase chain reaction genotyping of endothelin A receptor (ETAR)-flox mice (with flox band: Approximately 650 bp; without flox band: Approximately 610 bp); C: Representative immunofluorescence images showing ETAR (green) signals in dorsal root ganglion neurons from ETAR conditional knockout (CKO) and littermate wild type (WT) mice; D: Analysis of ETAR-positive dorsal root ganglion neuron percentage in WT and CKO mice; E: Radiant heat test was used to examine thermal nociceptive response latency in WT and ETAR CKO mice; F: Response threshold to abdominal mechanical stimulation was measured in WT and ETAR CKO mice with von Frey filaments; G: Von Frey filaments with different forces were applied to the abdomen of WT and ETAR CKO mice. The response frequency of each filament was calculated; H: The experimental flowchart; I: The percentage of body weight change of experimental mice around 4 weeks after with dibutyltin dichloride or vehicle treatment. Scale bar, 50 μm. n = 3-20 mice. Data are shown as mean ± SEM. ^bP < 0.01, ^cP < 0.001, statistical comparisons were conducted with unpaired two-tailed t-test (D-F), two-way analysis of variance (G) or one-way analysis of variance with Sidak’s post hoc test (I). Ednra: Endothelin receptor type A gene; WT: Wild type; CKO: Conditional knockout; ETAR: Endothelin A type receptor; DBTC: Dibutyltin dichloride; EPM: Elevated plus maze.