Purpose:
Neuropathic pain often originates from nerve injury or diseases of the somatosensory nervous system. However, its specific pathogenesis remains unclear. The requirement for excitatory synaptic plasticity in
pain-related syndromes has been demonstrated. A recent study reported that pentraxin-3 is important in glutamatergic synaptic formation and function. Meanwhile,
nectin-1 mediates synaptogenesis in
neurological disorders. The present study aimed to evaluate whether pentraxin-3 and
nectin-1 modulate spinal nerve damage-related
neuropathic pain in male mice. Methods: L4 spinal nerve
ligation (SNL) in male mice was performed to induce experimental
neuropathic pain.
Mechanical allodynia and heat
hyperalgesia following SNL were based on paw withdrawal (PW) threshold and PW latency, respectively. Spinal pentraxin-3 levels and
nectin-1 expression following SNL were examined. Pentraxin-3 and
nectin-1 knockdown models were established by the
shRNA method. These models were used with a recombinant pentraxin-3 cell model to investigate the underlying mechanisms of SNL. Results: The SNL operation generated persistent decreases in mechanical PW threshold and thermal PW latency, with subsequent long-lasting elevations in spinal pentraxin-3 and
nectin-1 expression levels. Pentraxin-3 knockdown reduced SNL-associated
neuropathic pain behaviors as well as
nectin-1 amounts in the spinal dorsal horn.
Nectin-1 deficiency impaired
mechanical allodynia and
thermal hyperalgesia following spinal nerve injury. The application of recombinant pentraxin-3 in the spinal cord triggered an acute nociception phenotype and induced spinal overexpression of
nectin-1. The intrathecal knockdown of
nectin-1 prevented exogenous pentraxin-3-evoked
pain hypersensitivity. Conclusions: The findings suggest spinal pentraxin-3 is required for SNL-triggered
neuropathic pain via
nectin-1 upregulation in male mice.