Meniscal injury is a common prelude to post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Joint nerves can become damaged in arthritic joints leading to the manifestation of neuropathic pain. Both PTOA and neuropathic pain are more common in females; however, it is unknown whether the neural processing of joint pain is sex-specific.
Male and female Wistar rats (230-286g) underwent unilateral medial meniscus transection (MMT) and allowed to recover for 28 days. Pain development was assessed over the time course by von Frey hair algesiometry and dynamic weight bearing. Recordings from joint primary afferents was carried out by electrophysiology at end-stage disease. Nerve damage and β-endorphin levels were also compared between MMT and sham operated animals.
Male MMT rats exhibited significant pain behaviour compared to sham control. Evoked afferent firing rate was heightened in male MMT animals. Female PTOA rats did not show signs of pain behaviour on each of the test days and the neurophysiological properties of their nociceptors was not different from control. Peripheral neuropathy was observed in about 30% of axons from male MMT animals compared to 15% in females. Systemic β-endorphin levels in female PTOA rats was 91.0 ± 10.4 pg/mL and only 49.0 ± 5.0 pg/mL in males.
Secondary allodynia and joint pain were observed in male but not female MMT rats. Joint nociceptors were sensitized in PTOA males but not in females. This lack of pain in females may be due to the absence of a peripheral neuropathy and greater endogenous opioid production.