Abstract
Neuropathic pain (NP) caused by sciatic nerve injury can significantly impact the quality of life of patients. The M1 phenotype of microglia has been reported to promote the progression of NP. Procaine is a lipid-soluble local anesthetic drug that exerts narcotic analgesic effects. Nevertheless, the detailed effect of procaine in NP is not clear. In order to explore the role of procaine in the polarization of NP microglia, HAPI cells were exposed to LPS to polarize into M1 type. In addition, the number of the M1 phenotype of HAPI cells was assessed using flow cytometry. The binding site between CCL5 and STAT3 was explored using the dual luciferase assay. Furthermore, in vivo experiments were applied for testing the impact of procaine on NP. LPS significantly inhibited HAPI cell viability, which was reversed by procaine. Consistently, procaine alleviated LPS-induced upregulation of inflammatory factors. Additionally, it significantly inhibited HAPI cell M1 polarization induced by LPS. Meanwhile, overexpression of STAT3 was able to promote HAPI cells M1 polarization through binding with the CCL5 promoter region and activating the PI3K/Akt signaling. Procaine could alleviate the painful behavior of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) rats by modulating the STAT3/CCL5 axis and inhibiting microglia M1 polarization. In conclusion, procaine alleviated the painful behavior of CFA rats via regulating the STAT3/CCL5 axis and inhibiting microglia M1 polarization. Hence, the research might provide a novel agent for NP treatment.