Cancer chemotherapy frequently causes a painful peripheral neuropathy that is dose-limiting and can be irreversible. Gabapentin is clinically used to treat diverse forms of neuropathic pain. However, the mechanism(s) responsible for its antinociceptive effects remain poorly understood. Unpublished work from our groups suggests that gabapentin suppresses neuropathic pain induced by the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel in rodents through interactions with CB2 cannabinoid receptors. At the cellular level, gabapentin selectively increases ability of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) to recruit ?-arrestin to CB2 receptors. These observations suggest a previously unrecognized interaction between CB2 receptors, ?- arrestin/ERK1/2 signaling and gabapentin-induced antinociception. We postulate that gabapentin analgesic efficacy is due (at least in part) to a CB2-specific mechanism that involves increased ?-arrestin signaling in microglia or neurons. We will thoroughly test this hypothesis by completing three Specific Aims:
Aim 1 will characterize the impact of gabapentin on CB2 receptor signaling using transfected cells lines, cell lines natively expressing CB2 receptors and primary cultures of CB2-expressing cells. In addition, potential allosteric interactions between gabapentin and CB2 will be probed.
Aim 2 will use conditional deletion of CB2 from neurons, microglia, and astrocytes to determine which cell type(s) express the CB2 receptors mediating gabapentin antinociception during the development and maintenance phases of paclitaxel neuropathy. Since CB2 agonists efficaciously relieve paclitaxel-induced allodynia and hyperalgesia, this approach will also be used to determine the cell type(s) mediating antinociception elicited by direct acting CB2-agonists.
Aim 3 will extend the findings of the first two aims to determine if gabapentin efficacy is also CB2-mediated in other nerve injury and inflammatory pain models. The relevant cell type(s) will be determined using conditional deletion of CB2 as warranted and as described in the second specific aim.
This aim will also investigate the mechanism of direct-acting CB2 agonists in these pain models using the above conditional deletion approach. Our research team combines expertise in (1) CB2 receptor binding, signaling, trafficking, and regulation, (2) cannabinoid pharmacology and antinociceptive mechanisms, and (3) mouse preclinical models of pain. Our studies suggest a highly novel and previously unrecognized intersection between CB2 receptors, endocannabinoids, and arrestin signaling that underlies the therapeutic efficacy of gabapentin. Understanding the cross-talk between these pathways is critical both for elucidating the mechanism of action of gabapentin to exploit and optimize its therapeutic efficacy and for identifying novel therapeutic targets for drug development that lack unwanted side effects of conventional treatments. Lastly, our studies will also identify the cellular targets of CB2 agonist as they relieve a variety of pathological pain states.
While it can be lifesaving, cancer chemotherapy with agents such as paclitaxel can produce pathological pain adversely affecting many of cancer survivors. In this work we will test and validate a novel mechanism of action of a widely used neuropathic pain medication by exploring a previously unrecognized contribution of endocannabinoid signaling to its antinociceptive efficacy. Completion of the proposed work will promote a better understanding of how a commonly used medication for neuropathic pain works and will improve analgesic drug development.
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