CXCR4 chemokine receptor signaling mediates pain hypersensitivity in association with antiretroviral toxic neuropathy.

ABSTRACT: Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are known to produce painful neuropathies and to enhance states of pain hypersensitivity produced by HIV-1 infection. It has also been observed that in some neuropathic pain models, chemokines and their receptors are upregulated, perhaps contributing to the pain state. In order to understand if chemokines are involved in NRTI-mediated sensory neuropathies, we treated rats with the anti-retroviral drug, 2',3'-dideoxycytidine (ddC), which is known to produce an extended period of hyperalgesia and allodynia. Using in situ hybridization, we observed that under normal conditions, CXCR4 chemokine receptors were widely expressed by satellite glia in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and Schwann cells in the sciatic nerve. A limited number of DRG neu

SUBMITTER: Bhangoo SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2062574 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature