Pain persists in mice lacking both Substance P and CGRPα signaling

Abstract

The neuropeptides Substance P and CGRPα have long been thought important for pain sensation. Both peptides and their receptors are expressed at high levels in pain-responsive neurons from the periphery to the brain making them attractive therapeutic targets. However, drugs targeting these pathways individually did not relieve pain in clinical trials. Since Substance P and CGRPα are extensively co-expressed we hypothesized that their simultaneous inhibition would be required for effective analgesia. We therefore generated Tac1 and Calca double knockout (DKO) mice and assessed their behavior using a wide range of pain-relevant assays. As expected, Substance P and CGRPα peptides were undetectable throughout the nervous system of DKO mice. To our surprise, these animals displayed largely intact responses to mechanical, thermal, chemical, and visceral pain stimuli, as well as itch. Moreover, chronic inflammatory pain and neurogenic inflammation were unaffected by loss of the two peptides. Finally, neuropathic pain evoked by nerve injury or chemotherapy treatment was also preserved in peptide-deficient mice. Thus, our results demonstrate that even in combination, Substance P and CGRPα are not required for the transmission of acute and chronic pain.