title: Acute Phase Protein Lipocalin-2 Is Associated with Formalin-induced Nociception and Pathological Pain.
abstract: Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is an acute-phase protein induced by injury, infection, or other inflammatory stimuli. LCN2 binds small hydrophobic ligands and interacts with cell surface receptor to regulate diverse cellular processes. The role of LCN2 as a chemokine inducer in the central nervous system (CNS) has been previously reported. Based on the previous participation of LCN2 in neuroinflammation, we investigated the role of LCN2 in formalin-induced nociception and pathological pain. Formalin-induced nociceptive behaviors (licking/biting) and spinal microglial activation were significantly reduced in the second or late phase of the formalin test in Lcn2 knockout mice. Likewise, antibody-mediated neutralization of spinal LCN2 attenuated the mechanical hypersensitivity induced by peripheral nerve injury in mice. Taken together, our results suggest that LCN2 can be therapeutically targeted, presumably for both prevention and reversal of acute inflammatory pain as well as pathological pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Brain Science & Engineering Institute, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu 700-422, Korea.
authors.forename: Mithilesh Kumar
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Brain Science & Engineering Institute, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu 700-422, Korea.
authors.forename: Sangmin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Brain Science & Engineering Institute, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu 700-422, Korea.
authors.forename: Myungwon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 700-422, Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Ha
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Brain Science & Engineering Institute, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu 700-422, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoungho
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suk
keywords: Acute nociception; Lipocalin-2; Microglia; Neuroinflammation; Pathological pain; Spinal cord