Trang, TuanPilapil, Alexandra2016-09-212016-09-2120162016http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3319Neuropathic pain is a debilitating chronic pain condition that can arise because of injury to a peripheral nerve. The lack of effective therapies for neuropathic pain demands a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Converging evidence suggests that neuropathic pain is caused by aberrant cellular and molecular changes within the central nervous system. Microglia and P2X7 receptors (P2X7Rs) are spinal targets implicated in neuropathic pain, but the core mechanisms that modulate microglial P2X7R activity remain obscure. We identified Y382-384 within the P2X7R C-terminal domain as a putative phosphorylation site that underlies nerve injury-induced mechanical allodynia in a sex-dependent mechanism. Thus, site-specific tyrosine phosphorylation of P2X7R in microglia is a novel spinal determinant involved in neuropathic pain for male animals. The findings of this study provide evidence for microglial-mediated sex differences in neuropathic pain, which further reinforces the importance of including male and female subjects in preclinical pain research.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.NeuroscienceNeuropathic PainChronic PainMicrogliaPurinergic ReceptorsP2X7 ReceptorsSpinal Cordmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/28333