[Effect of P2X7 receptor knock-out on bone cancer pain in mice]

Cancer pain is one of the most common symptoms in patients with late stage cancer. Lung, breast and prostate carcinoma are the most common causes of pain from osseous metastasis. P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) is one of the subtypes of ATP-gated purinergic ion channel family, predominately distributed in microglia in the spinal cord. Activation of P2X7Rs in the spinal dorsal horn has been associated with release of proinflammatory cytokines from glial cells, causing increased neuronal excitability and exaggerated nociception. Mounting evidence implies a critical role of P2X7R in inflammatory and neuropathic pain. However, whether P2X7R is involved in cancer pain remains controversial. Here we established a bone cancer pain model by injecting the Lewis lung carcinoma cells into the femur bone marrow cavity of C57BL/6J wild-type mice (C57 WT mice) and P2X7R knockout mice (P2rx7(-/-) mice) to explore the role of P2X7R in bone cancer pain. Following intrafemur carcinoma inoculation, robust mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in C57 WT mice were developed on day 7 and 14, respectively, and persisted for at least 28 days in the ipsilateral hindpaw of the affected limb. CatWalk gait analysis showed significant decreases in the print area and stand phase, and a significant increase in swing phase in the ipsilateral hindpaw on day 21 and 28 after carcinoma cells inoculation. Histopathological sections (hematoxylin and eosin stain) showed that the bone marrow of the affected femur was largely replaced by invading tumor cells, and the femur displayed medullary bone loss and bone destruction on day 28 after inoculation. Unexpectedly, no significant changes in bone cancer-induced hypersensitivity of pain behaviors were found in P2rx7(-/-) mice, and the changes of pain-related values in CatWalk gait analysis even occurred earlier in P2rx7(-/-) mice, as compared with C57 WT mice. Together with our previous study in rats that blockade of P2X7R significantly alleviated bone cancer pain, it is implied that P2X7R may play different roles in bone cancer pain in different species (e.g. rat vs mouse). These results implicated a huge difference between the pathophysiology discovered in the experimental animal models and that of human disease.