Traumatic brain injury induces nociceptin/orphanin FQ expression in neurons of the rat cerebral cortex

Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) is a recently identified opioid-related neuropeptide. Earlier in vitro studies revealed regulation of N/OFQ expression by injury-induced factors, such as ciliary neurotrophic factor, inflammatory cytokines, and reactive oxygen species. We have extended our studies to in vivo experiments investigating the effect of traumatic brain injury on N/OFQ gene expression and peptide levels in the rat brain. Stab wound injury to the rat cerebral cortex led to a significant increase in N/OFQ mRNA levels in the vicinity of the injury, with the largest induction being seen at 24 h post-injury. Quantitative in situ hybridization revealed an almost twofold increase in the number of cells expressing N/OFQ, and the signal intensities within cells were also elevated. Stab wound injury leads to proliferation and hypertrophy of astrocytes, which respond to injury-related factors in vitro by up-regulating N/OFQ expression. However, in vivo N/OFQ co-localized exclusively with the neuronal marker, NeuN, following injury. N/OFQ expression was not detected in caspase-3-positive neurons undergoing apoptosis following injury, and increased N/OFQ expression was spatially more extended than the secondary injury-induced responses, such as astrogliosis and neuronal degeneration. Elevation of N/OFQ immunoreactivity closely followed the increase in N/OFQ gene expression as determined by immunohistochemistry. N/OFQ selectively activates the NOP receptor (ORL-1), but we did not detect parallel changes in levels of NOP receptor mRNA following injury, indicating regulation of the nociceptin system at the peptide and not the receptor level. In summary, a profound and prolonged up-regulation of N/OFQ expression in neurons surrounding a stab wound lesion to cerebral cortex was detected. The function of N/OFQ up-regulation in injury-induced responses in the brain is currently under investigation.