Contrasting roles of Beclin-1 in pain hypersensitivity and anxiety-like behaviours in a mouse model of neuropathic pain

Abstract

Chronic pain is a debilitative disease affecting 1 in 5 adults globally1. The current understanding of chronic pain remains inadequate, coupled with few available therapeutics for the treatment of associated mental health disorders. Cellular homeostasis is crucial for normal bodily functions and investigation at the cellular levels may reveal a better understanding of the processes that occur leading to the development of chronic pain. Using the spared nerve injury (SNI) model of neuropathic pain, we found that adult male mice with impaired BECLIN-1 function show enhanced mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity compared to wildtype controls. Remarkably, we found that while SNI induced increases in anxiety-like behaviours in wildtype mice, this was not observed in mice with impaired BECLIN-1 protein function. Our data thus indicates that BECLIN-1 is differentially involved in the nociceptive and emotion related effects of chronic neuropathic pain.