Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · May 2019
PI3K/Akt signaling pathway may be involved in MCP-1-induced P2X4R expression in cultured microglia and cancer-induced bone pain rats.
P2X4 receptor (P2X4R), a subtype of P2 purinergic receptors, is an ATP-gated receptor through which activity of spinal microglia instigates pain hypersensitivity in various pain conditions. Accumulating evidence indicates that monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) plays an important role in chronic pain facilitation, and it could stimulate microglia activation and involve in regulating P2X4R expression. However, the mechanism of MCP-1 in regulating the expression of P2X4R in microglia is poorly understood, and whether MCP-1 can aggravate pain via up-regulating spinal P2X4R expression in Cancer-induced Bone Pain (CIBP) remains unclear. ⋯ MCP-1 was found to be associated with P2X4R expression and mechanical allodynia induced by CIBP in vivo since the expression of MCP-1 was increased in CIBP and RS-504393 alleviated the P2X4R expression and mechanical allodynia in CIBP. Moreover, RS-504393 also reduced the increase of p-Akt induced by CIBP. Inhibition of PI3K/Akt pathway may partly reduce MCP-1/CCR2-induced expression of P2X4R and mechanical allodynia in CIBP rats.