Dehydrocorydaline attenuates bone cancer pain by shifting microglial M1/M2 polarization toward the M2 phenotype:

Bone cancer pain remains a major challenge in patients with primary or metastatic bone cancer due to a lack of understanding the mechanisms. Previous studies have revealed the two distinct functional polarization states of microglia (classically activated M1 and alternatively activated M2) in the spinal cord in nerve injury–induced neuropathic pain. However, whether microglia in the spinal cord polarize to M1 and M2 phenotypes and contribute to the development of bone cancer pain remains unclear. In this study, we used a mouse model with bone cancer to characterize the M1/M2 polarization of microglia in the spinal cord during the development of bone cancer pain, and investigated the antinociceptive effects of dehydrocorydaline, an alkaloidal component isolated from Rhizoma corydalis on bone cancer pain. Our results show that microglia in the spinal cord presented increased M1 polarization and decreased M2 polarization, while overproduction of IL-1β and inhibited expression of IL-10 was detected during bon...