Pain
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Comparative Study
Mechanical allodynia but not thermal hyperalgesia is impaired in mice deficient for ERK2 in the central nervous system.
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) plays critical roles in pain plasticity. However, the specific contribution of ERK2 isoforms to pain plasticity is not necessarily elucidated. Here we investigate the function of ERK2 in mouse pain models. ⋯ In Erk2 CKO mice, compensatory hyperphosphorylation of ERK1 was detected in the spinal cord. However, ERK1 did not appear to influence nociceptive processing because the additional inhibition of ERK1 phosphorylation using MEK (MAPK/ERK kinase) inhibitor SL327 did not produce additional changes in formalin-induced spontaneous behaviors in Erk2 CKO mice. Together, these results indicate that ERK2 plays a predominant and/or specific role in pain plasticity, while the contribution of ERK1 is limited.