Zhang Wen-Jun, Li Xi, Liao Jun-Xiang, Hu Dong-Xia, Huang Song
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China.
Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China.
Purinergic Signal. 2024 Sep 6. doi: 10.1007/s11302-024-10046-7.
The mechanism of neuropathic pain induced by nerve injury is complex and there are no effective treatment methods. P2X4 receptor expression is closely related to the occurrence of pain. Schwann cells (SCs) play a key protective role in the repair of peripheral nerve injury and myelin sheath regeneration. However, whether SCs can affect the expression of P2X4 receptor and play a role in pathological pain is still unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of SCs on whether they can down regulate the expression of P2X4 receptor to affect pain. The results showed that in the neuropathic pain induced by sciatic nerve injury model, the expression of P2X4 receptor in spinal cord tissue was significantly increased and the pain sensation of rats was increased. While SCs transplantation could down regulate the expression of P2X4 receptors in spinal cord and increase the mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) of rats. These data indicate that SCs can reduce the expression of P2X4 receptors to alleviate neuropathic pain, indicating that SCs can mediate P2X4 receptor signalling as a new target for pain treatment.
神经损伤所致神经性疼痛的机制复杂，且尚无有效的治疗方法。P2X4受体表达与疼痛的发生密切相关。雪旺细胞（SCs）在周围神经损伤修复和髓鞘再生中起关键的保护作用。然而，SCs是否能影响P2X4受体的表达并在病理性疼痛中发挥作用仍不清楚。因此，本研究探讨了SCs对下调P2X4受体表达以影响疼痛的作用。结果显示，在坐骨神经损伤模型所致的神经性疼痛中，脊髓组织中P2X4受体的表达显著增加，大鼠的痛觉增强。而SCs移植可下调脊髓中P2X4受体的表达，并增加大鼠的机械缩足阈值（MWT）和热缩足潜伏期（TWL）。这些数据表明，SCs可降低P2X4受体的表达以减轻神经性疼痛，提示SCs可作为疼痛治疗的新靶点介导P2X4受体信号传导。
