Division of Anatomy and Physiopathology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
Interdepartmental University Center of Research "Adaptation and Regeneration of Tissues and Organs (ARTO)", University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Aug 4;24(15):12438. doi: 10.3390/ijms241512438.
Orofacial pain represents a multidisciplinary biomedical challenge involving basic and clinical research for which no satisfactory solution has been found. In this regard, trigeminal pain is described as one of the worst pains perceived, leaving the patient with no hope for the future. The aim of this review is to evaluate the latest discoveries on the involvement of neurotrophins in orofacial nociception, describing their role and expression in peripheral tissues, trigeminal ganglion, and trigeminal nucleus considering their double nature as "supporters" of the nervous system and as "promoters" of nociceptive transmission. In order to scan recent literature (last ten years), three independent researchers referred to databases PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science to find original research articles and clinical trials. The researchers selected 33 papers: 29 original research articles and 4 clinical trials. The results obtained by the screening of the selected articles show an interesting trend, in which the precise modulation of neurotrophin signaling could switch neurotrophins from being a "promoter" of pain to their beneficial neurotrophic role of supporting the nerves in their recovery, especially when a structural alteration is present, as in neuropathic pain. In conclusion, neurotrophins could be interesting targets for orofacial pain modulation but more studies are necessary to clarify their role for future application in clinical practice.
口腔颌面部疼痛是一个涉及基础和临床研究的多学科生物医学挑战，目前仍未找到满意的解决方案。在这方面，三叉神经痛被描述为感知到的最严重的疼痛之一，使患者对未来失去希望。本综述的目的是评估神经生长因子在口腔颌面部疼痛中的最新发现，描述其在外周组织、三叉神经节和三叉神经核中的作用和表达，因为它们具有作为神经系统“支持者”和疼痛传递“促进者”的双重性质。为了扫描最新文献（过去十年），三位独立的研究人员参考了 PubMed、Embase、Google Scholar、Scopus 和 Web of Science 数据库，以查找原始研究文章和临床试验。研究人员共筛选出 33 篇论文：29 篇原始研究文章和 4 项临床试验。对所选文章进行筛选后得出的结果显示出一个有趣的趋势，即神经生长因子信号的精确调节可以使神经生长因子从疼痛的“促进者”转变为其有益的神经营养作用，支持神经在恢复过程中的功能，尤其是在存在结构改变的情况下，如在神经病理性疼痛中。总之，神经生长因子可能是口腔颌面部疼痛调节的有趣靶点，但仍需要更多的研究来阐明其在未来临床实践中的作用。
