Tonic Inhibition of Allergic Itch Signaling by the Descending Noradrenergic System in Mice

We investigated whether the descending noradrenergic system regulates allergic itch. Mosquito allergy of the hind paw elicited biting, an itch-related response, in sensitized mice. The biting was inhibited by intrathecal clonidine and reversed by yohimbine, an alpha(2)-adrenoceptor antagonist. The biting was increased by intrathecal pretreatment with the catecholaminergic neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine and the alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist phentolamine but not the serotonergic neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine. We propose that alpha(2)-aradrenoceptors are involved in the inhibition of allergic itch in the spinal cord and that the descending noradrenergic system exerts a tonic inhibition on the itch signaling. The serotonergic system may not be involved.