Reactive oxygen species derived from NOX1/NADPH oxidase enhance inflammatory pain

The involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in an augmented sensitivity to painful stimuli (hyperalgesia) during inflammation has been suggested, yet how and where ROS affect the pain signaling remain unknown. Here we report a novel role for the superoxide-generating NADPH oxidase in the development of hyperalgesia. In mice lacking Nox1 (Nox1(-/Y)), a catalytic subunit of NADPH oxidase, thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia was significantly attenuated, whereas no change in nociceptive responses to heat or mechanical stimuli was observed. In dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons of Nox1(+/Y), pretreatment with chemical mediators bradykinin, serotonin, or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) augmented the capsaicin-induced calcium increase, whereas this increase was significantly attenuated in DRG neurons of Nox1(-/Y). Concomitantly, PMA-induced translocation of PKC epsilon was markedly perturbed in Nox1(-/Y) or Nox1(+/Y) DRG neurons treated with ROS-scavenging agents. In cells transfected with tagged PKC epsilon, hydrogen peroxide induced translocation and a reduction in free sulfhydryls of full-length PKC epsilon but not of the deletion mutant lacking the C1A domain. These findings indicate that NOX1/NADPH oxidase accelerates the translocation of PKC epsilon in DRG neurons, thereby enhancing the TRPV1 activity and the sensitivity to painful stimuli.