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Query: UMLS:C0423716 (Neuropathic pain)
 1,417 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Neuropathic pain is a highly debilitating chronic pain state that is a consequence of nerve injury or of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, infection, autoimmune disease, or trauma. Neuropathic pain is often resistant to currently available analgesics. There is a rapidly growing body of evidence indicating that signalings from spinal microglia play crucial roles in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. After peripheral nerve injury, microglia transform to reactive states through the expression of various genes such as cell-surface receptors (including purinergic receptors) and proinflammatory cytokines that enhance synaptic transmission in dorsal horn neurons. Inhibiting function or expression of these microglial molecules strongly suppresses pain hypersensitivity to innocuous mechanical stimuli (tactile allodynia), a hallmark symptom of neuropathic pain. A recent study also reveals that the transcription factor IRF8 (interferon regulatory factor 8) is a critical regulator of the nerve injury-induced gene expression in microglia. The present review article highlights the recent advances in our understanding of spinal microglia in neuropathic pain.
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PMID:Microglial regulation of neuropathic pain. 2333 37

Neuropathic pain, a debilitating pain condition, is a common consequence of damage to the nervous system. Neuropathic pain is often resistant to currently available analgesics. A growing body of evidence indicates that spinal microglia react and undergo a series of changes that directly influence the establishment of neuropathic pain states. After nerve injury, P2X4 receptors (P2X4Rs) are upregulated in spinal microglia by several factors at the transcriptional and translational levels. Those include the CC chemokine CCL21 derived from damaged neurons, the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin in the spinal cord, and the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) expressed in microglia. P2X4R expression in microglia is also regulated at the post-translational level by signaling from other cell-surface receptors such as CC chemokine receptor (CCR2). Importantly, inhibiting the function or expression of P2X4Rs and P2X4R-regulating molecules suppresses the aberrant excitability of dorsal horn neurons and neuropathic pain. These findings indicate that P2X4R-positive microglia are a central player in mechanisms for neuropathic pain. Thus, microglial P2X4Rs are a potential target for treating the chronic pain state.
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PMID:P2X4 receptors and neuropathic pain. 2419 Nov 46