Objective To investigate whether the kainate （KA） receptor subunit GluR6 is involved in the acute inflammatory pain. Methods Formalin was injected into the mucosa of rectum in Sprague-Dawley rats to induce visceral pain. The antisense oligodeoxynucleotides （ODNs） of GluR6 were injected once per day for 3 d before formalin injection, after which GluR6 protein level was examined by immunoblotting method. The change of visceral pain was also investigated. Results The expression of GluR6 in the spinal cord of rats increased after the formalin injection. Moreover, pre-treatment of GluR6 antisense ODNs could suppress GluR6 expression in the spinal cord of rats and decrease the scores of visceral pain at 45 min following formalin injection. Conclusion Kainate receptor subunit GluR6 plays an important role in the visceral pain induced by injection of formalin into the wall of rectum. GluR6 may serve as a potential target for the treatment of acute inflammatory visceral pain.
