Fang Xiao-Xia, Wang Heng, Song Hao-Lin, Wang Juan, Zhang Zhi-Jun
Department of Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, China.
Department of Medical Functional Laboratory, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2022 Jun 20;13:921612. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.921612. eCollection 2022.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global epidemic with increasing incidence, which results in diverse complications, seriously affects the patient quality of life, and brings huge economic burdens to society. Diabetic neuropathy is the most common chronic complication of DM, resulting in neuropathic pain and chronic itch. The precise mechanisms of diabetic neuropathy have not been fully clarified, hindering the exploration of novel therapies for diabetic neuropathy and its terrible symptoms such as diabetic pain and itch. Accumulating evidence suggests that neuroinflammation plays a critical role in the pathophysiologic process of neuropathic pain and chronic itch. Indeed, researchers have currently made significant progress in knowing the role of glial cells and the pro-inflammatory mediators produced from glial cells in the modulation of chronic pain and itch signal processing. Here, we provide an overview of the current understanding of neuroinflammation in contributing to the sensitization of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS). In addition, we also summarize the inflammation mechanisms that contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic itch, including activation of glial cells, oxidative stress, and pro-inflammatory factors. Targeting excessive neuroinflammation may provide potential and effective therapies for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain and itch in DM.
糖尿病（DM）是一种全球流行且发病率不断上升的疾病，它会引发多种并发症，严重影响患者生活质量，并给社会带来巨大经济负担。糖尿病神经病变是糖尿病最常见的慢性并发症，会导致神经性疼痛和慢性瘙痒。糖尿病神经病变的确切机制尚未完全阐明，这阻碍了针对糖尿病神经病变及其诸如糖尿病性疼痛和瘙痒等可怕症状的新疗法的探索。越来越多的证据表明，神经炎症在神经性疼痛和慢性瘙痒的病理生理过程中起关键作用。事实上，研究人员目前在了解胶质细胞以及胶质细胞产生的促炎介质在调节慢性疼痛和瘙痒信号处理中的作用方面取得了重大进展。在此，我们概述了目前对神经炎症在导致外周神经系统（PNS）和中枢神经系统（CNS）敏化方面的理解。此外，我们还总结了导致糖尿病性瘙痒发病机制的炎症机制，包括胶质细胞的激活、氧化应激和促炎因子。针对过度的神经炎症可能为治疗糖尿病中的慢性神经性疼痛和瘙痒提供潜在有效的疗法。
