Microglia and neuropathic pain recovery

Damage to the nervous system pathologically alters the somatosensory system, which can result in neuropathic pain. Whereas pain development has been well studied, the mechanisms orchestrating pain recovery remain unclear.

Kohno et al. identified a CD11c+ spinal microglia population that appears after pain development and is essential for recovery from neuropathic pain.

*The ability of these cells to promote pain recovery relied on their high levels of expression of insulin-like growth factor-1.

The CD11c+ microglia remained even after pain recovery, and pain hypersensitivity returned if they were depleted.

These findings could promote a pathway for the development of new therapies to treat neuropathic pain.

Authors

Keita Kohono, Ryoji Shirasaka, Kohei Yoshiha, Rasatsuki Mikuriya, Kaori Tanaka, Keiko Takanami, Kazuhide Inoue, Hirotaka Sakamoto, Yasuyuki Ohkawa, Takahiro Masuda and Makoto Tsuda.