Oxaliplatin and
paclitaxel are commonly used anti-
cancer drugs, but they frequently cause peripheral
neuropathic pain. In this study, we investigated the effect of
elcatonin, a synthetic
eel calcitonin, on
oxaliplatin- and
paclitaxel-induced neuropathy in rats. The rats were treated with a single dose of
oxaliplatin (6 mg/kg, i.p.) or repeated doses of
paclitaxel (2 mg/kg, i.p.) on 4 alternate days. Both treatments resulted in cold and
mechanical allodynia. We assessed the anti-allodynic effects of subcutaneously administered
elcatonin (20 U/kg/day) by using a newly developed method to provide cold stimulation (8°C) directly to the hind paw of the rats and by using the von Frey test.
Elcatonin almost completely reversed the effects of both cold and
mechanical allodynia. To determine the mechanism of this anti-allodynic effect, we examined the effect of
elcatonin on neuropathy induced by intraplantar injection of two organic
compounds: allyl isothiocyanate (1 nmol/paw), which activates transient receptor potential ankyrin-1 channels, and
menthol (1.28 μmol/paw), which activates transient receptor potential ankyrin-1 and melastatin-8. Pre-administration of
elcatonin almost completely prevented cold and
mechanical allodynia from being induced by both compounds. These results suggest that
elcatonin attenuates
oxaliplatin- and
paclitaxel-induced
neuropathic pain by inhibiting the cellular signaling related to transient receptor potential ankyrin-1 and melastatin-8. Thus, we conclude that administration of
elcatonin may improve the quality of life of
cancer patients receiving
chemotherapy.