Paclitaxel (Taxol, Tocris Bioscience #RDS109750, Bristol, United Kingdom) was made fresh daily by dissolving in absolute ethanol, cremophor EL (Sigma-Aldrich) and 0.9% saline at a ratio of 1:1:18, respectively. Experimental procedures were as previously described (Deng et al., 2015 (link); Paton et al., 2017 (link); Atigari et al., 2020 (link)). Mice were administered paclitaxel 4 mg/kg i.p. injections on four alternate days to give a cumulative dose of 16 mg/kg. Mechanical and cold allodynia were assessed every second day to measure the progression of paclitaxel-induced effects. Mice were placed in transparent plastic chambers upon a metal mesh stand. After a 20 min habituation to the apparatus, each hind paw was measured in duplicate for each type of stimulation, always beginning with mechanical testing. On days with behavioural measurements and a paclitaxel dose, measurements were always taken before the administration of paclitaxel.
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