Preprint
Aberrant Pain Phenotypes Emerge Following Prenatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury in a Rabbit Model of Cerebral Palsy
bioRxiv
03 Jul 2026
PMID: 42427675
Abstract
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability in childhood, and the most frequent comorbidity is pain. Rabbit kits subjected to prenatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) exhibit allodynia and an expansion of nociceptive afferents in the lumbar spinal cord at postnatal day (P5). In this study, we examined how HI alters the development of multiple sensory modalities and its effect on psychosocial measures and C-fiber distribution in the spinal cord. To do this, we performed an HI surgery to occlude blood flow to fetal New Zealand White rabbits for 40 minutes, or a sham surgery. We performed von Frey, Hargreaves, and a cold allodynia test at P1, P5, P11, and P18. Additionally, we performed open field, a two-texture preference test, and immunofluorescence assays at P18. HI kits exhibit altered development and allodynia in von Frey and Hargreaves and minor decreased sensitivity in cold allodynia. HI kits spend less time on the aversive side of the two-texture preference apparatus and more time in the center of an open field but a higher ratio of that time immobile. This is accompanied by changes in the distribution of C-fibers in the dorsal horn of the cervical and lumbar spinal cord. A principal components analysis revealed altered nociception and psychosocial changes are important for differentiating between control and HI kits but not distribution of C-fibers. Overall, HI rabbits kits exhibit altered sensory development, allodynia, anxiety-like behavior, and changes to the distribution of nociceptive afferents in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.
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Details
- Title
- Aberrant Pain Phenotypes Emerge Following Prenatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury in a Rabbit Model of Cerebral Palsy
- Creators
- Landon T Genry - University of Rhode IslandCorinne W Marble - Drexel UniversityBrendan C Moline - University of Rhode IslandPatrick J McGinnis - Drexel UniversityCassandra Kramer - University of Rhode IslandScott Matson - University of Rhode IslandEmily J Reedich - University of Rhode IslandElvia Mena Avila - University of Rhode IslandTracy Santos - University of Rhode IslandLisa Dowaliby - University of Rhode IslandNatallia Katenka - University of Rhode IslandMarin Manuel - University of Rhode IslandKatharina A Quinlan - University of Rhode IslandMegan Ryan Detloff - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- bioRxiv
- Publisher
- United States
- Resource Type
- Preprint
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Neurobiology and Anatomy
- Other Identifier
- 991022195751204721