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A Wnt5a signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of HIV-1 gp120-induced pain.

Author

  • Subo Yuan
  • Guangchen Ji
  • Bei Li
  • Tommy Andersson
  • Volker Neugebauer
  • Shao-Jun Tang

Summary, in English

Pathological pain is one of the most common neurological complications in HIV-1/AIDS patients. However, the pathogenic process is unclear. Our recent studies show that Wnt5a is up-regulated in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) of the HIV patients who develop pain and that HIV-1 gp120, a potential causal factor of the HIV-associated pain, rapidly up-regulates Wnt5a in the mouse SDH. Using a mouse model, we show here that a specific Wnt5a antagonist, Box-5, attenuated gp120-induced mechanical allodynia. Conversely, a Wnt5a agonist, Foxy5, facilitated the allodynia. To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which Wnt5a regulates gp120-induced allodynia, we tested the role of the JNK/TNF-α pathway. We observed that the JNK-specific inhibitor SP600125 blocked either gp120- or Foxy5-induced allodynia. Similarly, the TNF-α-specific antagonist Enbrel also reversed either gp120- or Foxy5-induced allodynia. These data suggest that JNK and TNF-α mediate the biological effects of Wnt5a in regulating gp120-induced allodynia. To investigate the cellular mechanism, we performed extracellular single-unit recording from SDH neurons in anesthetized mice. Both Box5 and SP600125 negated gp120-induced potentiation of SDH neuron spiking evoked by mechanical stimulation of the hindpaw. Furthermore, while Foxy5 potentiated spike frequency of SDH neurons, either SP600125 or Enbrel blocked the potentiation. The data indicate that Wnt5a potentiates the activity of SDH neurons via the JNK-TNF-α pathway. Collectively, our findings suggest that Wnt5a regulates the pathogenesis of gp120-induced pain, likely by sensitizing pain-processing SDH neurons via JNK/TNF-α signaling.

Department/s

Publishing year

2015

Language

English

Pages

1311-1319

Publication/Series

Pain

Volume

156

Issue

7

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Cancer and Oncology

Status

Published

Research group

  • Experimental Pathology, Malmö

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1872-6623