University of Texas Medical Branch, USA.
Exp Neurol. 2012 Apr;234(2):330-9. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2011.10.019. Epub 2011 Oct 28.
Effective treatments for patients suffering from chronic pain remain an area of intense focus within the pharmaceutical industry, as the development of novel therapies would help to treat an area of significant unmet medical need. The successful development of pharmacological agents to treat inflammatory and neuropathic pain conditions relies on a thorough understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the development and maintenance of chronic pain states. The goal of this review is to highlight recent discoveries regarding the intracellular signaling mechanisms that appear to play a critical role in persistent inflammatory and neuropathic pain. The review will focus on the mitogen activated protein kinase family of enzymes and the data suggesting that treatments designed to inhibit the activation of these enzymes may lead to significant advancements in the treatment of chronic pain. The review will also highlight the important interplay between neurons and non-neuronal cells (i.e., microglia and astrocytes) within the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in the generation and maintenance of chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain.
治疗慢性疼痛患者的有效方法仍然是制药行业关注的焦点，因为开发新的治疗方法将有助于治疗一个存在巨大未满足医疗需求的领域。成功开发治疗炎症和神经病理性疼痛的药物依赖于对导致慢性疼痛状态发展和维持的机制的深入理解。本综述的目的是强调最近关于细胞内信号转导机制的发现，这些机制似乎在持续性炎症和神经病理性疼痛中发挥关键作用。该综述将集中于丝裂原活化蛋白激酶家族的酶，以及表明设计用于抑制这些酶的激活的治疗方法可能会导致慢性疼痛治疗的重大进展的数据。该综述还将强调脊髓背角神经元和非神经元细胞（即小胶质细胞和星形胶质细胞）之间的重要相互作用在慢性炎症和神经病理性疼痛的产生和维持中的作用。
