Trang Tuan, Beggs Simon, Salter Michael W
University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Programmes in Brain and Behaviour and Cell Biology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada.
Pflugers Arch. 2006 Aug;452(5):645-52. doi: 10.1007/s00424-006-0074-5. Epub 2006 Apr 22.
Emerging evidence indicates that microglia play a critical role in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain, a debilitating chronic pain condition that can occur after peripheral nerve damage caused by disease, infection, or physical injury. Microglia are immunocompetent cells of the central nervous system and express various ionotropic P2X and metabotropic P2Y purinoceptors. After injury to a peripheral nerve, microglia in the spinal cord become activated and upregulate expression of the P2X4 receptor. Recent findings suggest that activation of P2X4 receptors evokes release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor from microglia and that this mediates microglia-neuron signaling leading to pain hypersensitivity. Thus, P2X4 receptors and the intracellular signaling mediators in microglia are promising therapeutic targets for the development of novel pharmacological agents in the management of neuropathic pain.
新出现的证据表明，小胶质细胞在神经性疼痛的发病机制中起关键作用，神经性疼痛是一种使人衰弱的慢性疼痛病症，可在疾病、感染或身体损伤导致外周神经损伤后发生。小胶质细胞是中枢神经系统具有免疫活性的细胞，表达各种离子型P2X和代谢型P2Y嘌呤受体。外周神经损伤后，脊髓中的小胶质细胞被激活并上调P2X4受体的表达。最近的研究结果表明，P2X4受体的激活会促使小胶质细胞释放脑源性神经营养因子，这介导了小胶质细胞与神经元之间的信号传导，导致疼痛超敏反应。因此，P2X4受体和小胶质细胞内的信号传导介质是开发新型药物治疗神经性疼痛的有前景的治疗靶点。
