Intrathecal injection of selected peptide Myr-RC-13 attenuates bone cancer pain by inhibiting KIF17 and NR2B expression

•KIF17 involves in the development of bone cancer pain.•Spinal administration of Myr-RC-13 attenuated bone cancer pain in a mouse model.•Intrathecal injection of Myr-RC-13 decreased spinal KIF17 and NR2B expressions.•KIF17 and NR2B may co-regulate and co-participate in the nociceptive behavior.

Although bone cancer pain is a common intractable clinical symptom, its underlying mechanisms are still elusive. Accumulating evidence reveals that the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor containing a 2B subunit (NR2B) in the spinal cord contributes to bone cancer pain. Our preliminary study demonstrated that intrathecal injection of fusion peptide Myr-RC-13 could disrupt spinal KIF17/mLin10 interaction, which is an essential component of KIF17-mediated NR2B transport. Here we report a means by infusion of the selected peptide Myr-RC-13 intrathecally to attenuate bone cancer pain. The results showed that inoculation of fibrosarcoma NCTC 2472 cells into the femur cavity of C3H/HeJ mice induced progressive bone cancer pain and resulted in up-regulation of KIF17 and NR2B in the spinal cord. In addition, repetitive spinal delivery of Myr-RC-13 relieved bone cancer-related mechanical allodynia and spontaneous pain behaviors, and down-regulated expression of spinal KIF17 and NR2B. Finally, our results demonstrated that selected peptide Myr-RC-13 was able to attenuate bone cancer pain via decreasing spinal KIF17 and NR2B expressions. Therefore, selected peptide Myr-RC-13 might be a potential analgesic strategy for bone cancer pain.