Received for publication October 27, 2006.
Revised April 10, 2007.
Accepted for publication April 11, 2007.

Antibodies to nerve growth factor (NGF) reverse established tactile allodynia in rodent models of neuropathic pain without tolerance

Abstract

There is a considerable body of evidence implicating endogenous NGF in conditions in which pain is a prominent feature, including neuropathic pain. However, previous studies of NGF antagonism in animal models of neuropathic pain have examined only the prevention of hyperalgesia and allodynia following injury, whereas the more relevant issue is whether or not treatment can provide relief of established pain, particularly without tolerance. Here we studied the effects of potent, neutralizing anti-NGF antibodies on the reversal of tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in established models of neuropathic and inflammatory pain in rats and mice. In the CFA-induced hindpaw inflammation, spinal nerve ligation and STZ-induced neuropathic pain models, a single intraperitoneal injection of a polyclonal anti-NGF antibody reversed established tactile allodynia from approximately day three to day seven after treatment. Effects on thermal hyperalgesia were variable with a significant effect observed only in the spinal nerve ligation model. In the mouse chronic constriction injury (CCI) model, a mouse monoclonal anti-NGF antibody reversed tactile allodynia when administered two weeks after surgery. Repeated administration of this antibody to CCI mice for three weeks produced a sustained reversal (days 4 to 21) of tactile allodynia that returned five days after the end of dosing. In conclusion, NGF appears to play a critical role in models of established neuropathic and inflammatory pain in both rats and mice, with no development of tolerance to antagonism. Antagonists of NGF, such as fully human monoclonal anti-NGF antibodies, may have therapeutic utility in analogous human pain conditions.

Key words: antibodies, chronic pain, diabetes, growth factors, inflammatory pain, neuropathic pain