Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Oct 2020
Spinal cannabinoid receptor 2 activation reduces hypersensitivity associated with bone cancer pain and improves the integrity of the blood-spinal cord barrier.
Disruption of the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) can facilitate inflammation that results in pain hypersensitivity. Proinflammatory cytokines produced by activated microglia and astrocytes damage the BSCB. This study aims to explore whether the BSCB is damaged in the bone cancer pain (BCP) model and to investigate a potential role and mechanism of JWH015 ((2-methyl-1-propyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-1-naphthalenylmethanone), a selective cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) agonist, in preserving the BSCB integrity in the BCP model. ⋯ JWH015 alleviates neuroinflammation and maintains the BSCB integrity and permeability in a mouse model of BCP, which is probably mediated by inhibiting glial cells activation. This study reveals the new analgesic mechanism of JWH015 on BCP and provides a perspective to explore novel drugs that target the BSCB to control BCP.