Journal: Scientific Reports
Article Title: Esketamine attenuates bone cancer pain by suppressing MAPK signaling and glial activation in the spinal dorsal horn of rats
doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-38137-y
Figure Lengend Snippet: ESK inhibits MAPK pathway activation in the SDH of BCP rats. ( A–D ) Representative WB images and quantification of phosphorylated JNK ( B ), p38 ( C ), and ERK ( D ) levels. Data are mean ± SEM of biological replicates n = 3. *** P < 0.001 versus sham plus vehicle group, # P < 0.05, ## P < 0.01, ### P < 0.001 versus BCP plus vehicle group, ns, not significant. One-way ANOVA with repeated measures followed by post hoc Tukey test. ( E ) Schematic of experimental timeline showing repeated intrathecal administration of ESK, SB203580 (p38 inhibitor), or SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) on POD 13 to 16. ( F ) Co-treatment with ESK enhanced the MAPK inhibitors induced increase in PWT after intrathecal administration. Notably, co-administration of MAPK inhibitors did not further enhance ESK’s analgesic effect, suggesting that its antinociceptive action mainly involves MAPK pathway inhibition. Data are mean ± SEM of biological replicates n = 7–8 rats/group. Two-way ANOVA with repeated measures followed by post hoc Tukey test. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001 vs. BCP + DMSO; # P < 0.05, BCP + ESK+SB203580 vs. BCP + SB203580, BCP + ESK+SP600125 vs. BCP + SP600125 at corresponding time points. ( G ) Western blot of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α expression in the SDH. ( H–J ) Quantification of cytokine levels showed further reductions in IL-1β ( H ), IL-6 ( I ), and TNF-α ( J ) with combined ESK and MAPK inhibitor treatment. Data are mean ± SEM of biological replicates n = 3. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, ns, not significant. One-way ANOVA with repeated measures followed by post hoc Tukey test.
Article Snippet: To assess MAPK pathway involvement, the JNK inhibitor SP600125 (5 μg/10 μl; Cell Signaling Technology, USA) and the p38 inhibitor SB203580 (10 μg/10 μl; Abcam, UK) were dissolved in DMSO to a final DMSO concentration of 1%.
Techniques: Activation Assay, Inhibition, Western Blot, Expressing