The function of Tricornered (Trc), the Drosophila Ndr (Nuclear Dbf2-related) serine/threonine protein kinase, is required for the normal morphogenesis of a variety of polarized outgrowths including epidermal hairs, bristles, arista laterals, and dendrites. In yeast the Trc homolog Cbk1 needs to bind Mob2 to activate the RAM pathway. In this report, we provide genetic and biochemical data that Drosophila Trc also interacts with and is activated by Drosophila Dmob proteins. In addition, Drosophila Mob proteins appear to interact with the related Warts/Lats kinase, which functions as a tumor suppressor in flies and mammals. Interestingly, the overgrowth tumor phenotype that results from mutations in Dmob1 (mats) was only seen in genetic mosaics and not when the entire animal was mutant. We conclude that unlike in yeast, in Drosophila individual Mob proteins interact with multiple kinases and that individual NDR family kinases interact with multiple Mob proteins. We further provide evidence that Mo25, the Drosophila homolog of the RAM pathway hym1 gene does not function along with Trc.

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Patients with chronic pain experience spontaneous or ongoing pain as well as enhanced sensitivity to evoked stimuli. Spontaneous or ongoing pain is rarely evaluated in preclinical studies. In fact, it remains controversial whether ongoing or spontaneous pain even develops in mice after tissue or nerve injury. This study tested a hypothesis that negative reinforcement can be used to unmask the presence of pain in mice with tissue or nerve injury. We found that spinal administration of clonidine or lidocaine did not elicit CPP in uninjured or sham-operated mice. However, these agents produced CPP in mice with chronic inflammation induced by complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) or following L5/L6 spinal nerve ligation (SNL). These data indicate the presence of non-evoked (i.e., stimulus-independent) ongoing pain in mice with chronic inflammation (CFA) or following nerve injury (SNL). In addition, this study validates the use of negative reinforcement to unmask non-evoked ongoing pain in mice. Given the existence of a large collection of transgenic and knockout mice, our data show the application of this approach to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying non-evoked pain and to contribute to drug discovery for pain. Perspective We demonstrated the presence of non-evoked ongoing pain in mice with chronic inflammation or following nerve injury. The study also validates the use of negative reinforcement to unmask non-evoked pain in mice. We propose to apply this approach to identify molecular mechanisms and effective drugs for chronic pain.

Cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP) is a common clinical problem in breast cancer patients with bone metastasis. Recent studies shows chemokines are novel targets for treatment of CIBP. In this study, we intra-tibial inoculated with Walker 256 rat mammary gland carcinoma cells into rat bone to established metastatic breast cancer. Then we measured the expression of CXCL10 in the spinal cord of metastatic bone cancer rats, investigated the role of CXCL10 in the development of CIBP, and the underlying mechanism. Results revealed that after intra-tibial inoculation with Walker 256 cells, rats showed up-regulation of CXCL10 and its receptor CXCR3 in the spinal cord. Interestingly, intrathecally injection of recombinant CXCL10 protein induced mechanical allodynia in naïve rats. Blocking the function of CXCL10/CXCR3 pathway via anti-CXCL10 antibody or CXCR3 antagonist prevented the development of CIBP and microglial activation. Moreover, CXCL10-induced mechanical allodynia was rescued by minocycline treatment during the late-stage of CIBP, days 10-14. The regulation of CXCL10 expression involved microglial activation in a manner of autocrine positive feedback. These results suggest that CXCL10 may be a necessary algogenic molecule, especially in the development of CIBP. Its function was partly mediated via spinal microglial activation. This study provides a novel insight into the biological function of chemokine CXCL10 in the molecular mechanism underlying cancer pain. It also provides new target for clinical treatment of metastatic breast cancer-induced bone pain in future.