Fig. 1: Effects of paclitaxel (PTX) treatment in wild-type and IL-6 knockout mice on motor function and mechanical allodynia.

a Schematic overview of paclitaxel-induced neuropathy: Adult male C57Bl/6J wild-type (WT) and IL-6 knockout (IL-6^−/−) mice were injected intraperitoneally with 1 mg per kg bodyweight (BW) paclitaxel (PTX) or the corresponding vehicle (VEH) cremophor EL:Ethanol (1:1) four times on alternating days (cumulative dose of 4 mg per kg BW PTX). Locomotor function and mechanical withdrawal threshold were assessed with the RotaRod (RR) and von-Frey (vF) test on days 7 and 13; sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) of the caudal nerve was measured on days 7 and 14 after the initial PTX application. Tissue samples for histology were obtained in terminal anesthesia on day 14. b PTX treated mice developed a slight weight loss over the course of the treatment, which was only significant in the PTX/IL-6^–/– group compared with the VEH treated IL-6^–/– mice. c Locomotor function remained unaltered after PTX application in WT and IL-6^–/– mice. d PTX treated WT mice developed a significant reduction of the mechanical withdrawal threshold indicative of mechanical allodynia, while IL-6^–/– mice were protected from these changes. Error bars depict SEM. Statistical analysis: b–d Two-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc analysis of n = 10 mice/group; *p < 0.05, NS not significant.