Systemic administrations of Bombesin modulate acute pain in mice

Bombesin (BBS) is a tetra-decapeptide, which is widely distributed in mammalian central nervous system. Due to presence of BBS in neural pathways that involved in control of pain, the aim of this study was to test the effects of this peptide on acute pain in mice. Male albino mice (25-30 gr.) were used in this study. Hot plate (HP) and Tail Flick (TF) models were applied for the evaluation of BBS effects on acute pain. Five minute prior to measuring pain, different doses of BBS (1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 µg/kg) or saline were respectively injected to test and control animals by the route of intraperitoneal. The results of current study indicated that peripheral injection of BBS produces significant analgesic effects in both TF and HP models. The present data provide evidences that BBS plays an important role in control of acute pain. Further studies are required to determine the underlying mechanisms.