Neuropeptide Y improves cisplatin-induced bone marrow dysfunction without blocking chemotherapeutic efficacy in a cancer mouse model

Cisplatin is the most effective and widely used chemo-therapeutic agent for many types of cancer. Unfortunately, its clinical use is limited by its adverse effects, notably bone marrow suppression leading to abnormal hematopoiesis. We previously revealed that neuropeptide Y (NPY) is responsible for the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function by protecting the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) fibers survival from chemotherapy-induced bone marrow impairment. Here, we show the NPY-mediated protective effect against bone marrow dysfunction due to cisplatin in an ovarian cancer mouse model. During chemotherapy, NPY mitigates reduction in HSC abundance and destruction of SNS fibers in the bone marrow without blocking the anticancer efficacy of cisplatin, and it results in the restoration of blood cells and amelioration of sensory neuropathy. Therefore, these results suggest that NPY can be used as a potentially effective agent to improve bone marrow dysfunction during cisplatin-based cancer therapy.