Paclitaxel increases the activity of NMDARs at primary afferent terminals.
A, representative recordings show the effect of 50 μm AP5 on monosynaptic EPSCs of a lamina II neuron evoked from the dorsal root in a vehicle-treated rat and a paclitaxel-treated rat. B, group data show the effect of AP5 on the mean amplitude of evoked EPSCs of lamina II neurons in vehicle-treated rats (n = 11 neurons, 4 rats) and paclitaxel-treated rats (n = 10 neurons, 4 rats). *, p < 0.05 compared with the respective baseline control. C, original current traces show EPSCs of dorsal horn neurons evoked by a pair of pulses before and during AP5 application in a vehicle-treated rat and a paclitaxel-treated rat. D, box/whisker plots show changes in the paired-pulse ratio of evoked EPSCs and the AP5 effect in vehicle-treated rats (n = 14 neurons, 5 rats) and paclitaxel-treated rats (n = 12 neurons, 4 rats). *, p < 0.05 compared with the respective baseline control. #, p < 0.05 compared with baseline in the vehicle-treated group.