LAUSR

Chronic pain is the most prominent and disabling symptom in the patients with osteoarthritis (OA), and the underlying mechanism largely remains unclear. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a proinflammatory cytokine, is critically involved in the development and maintenance of central sensitization in several rodent models of chronic pain. The present study aims to elucidate the IL-6 mediated neurological adaptation in dorsal horn in the rat with monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) - induced OA. Significant upregulation of IL-6 expression was detected in the dorsal horn in the modeled rats. Blockade of IL-6 function by tocilizumab markedly suppressed the activation of astrocytes and microglia in the ipsilateral dorsal horn, reduced c-Fos immunoreactivity in dorsal horn neurons, and attenuated the upregulation of glutamate receptor subunits GluR1 and NR2B in dorsal horn in the rats with MIA-induced OA. It was further reported that administration of tocilizumab significantly improved the performance in weight-bearing test and mitigated the mechanical allodynia in the modeled rats. These data illustrated spinal IL-6 mediated mechanism underlying the chronic pain, and proposed the potential therapeutic effect of tocilizumab on the chronic pain in the setting of OA.