Leisengang Stephan
Institute of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Frankfurter Strasse 100, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
Translational Neuroscience Network Giessen (TNNG), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
Brain Behav Immun Health. 2024 Sep 6;41:100854. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100854. eCollection 2024 Nov.
How can we learn more about pain without causing pain in humans or animals? This short review focuses on neuro-glial primary cell cultures as models to study neuro-immune interactions in the context of pain and discusses their advantages and limitations. The field of basic pain research places scientists in an ethical dilemma. We aim to understand underlying mechanisms of pain for an improved pain therapy for humans and animals. At the same time, this regularly includes the induction of pain in model animals. Within the field of psychoneuroimmunology, the examination of the complexity of neuro-immune interactions in health and disease as well as the bi-directional communication between the brain and the periphery make animal experiments an inevitable part of pain research. To address ethical and legal considerations as well as the growing societal awareness for animal welfare, scientists push for the identification and characterization of complementary methods to implement the 3R principle of Russel and Burch. As such, methods to animal studies, the number of animals used, and experiments are tested. Neuro-glial primary cell cultures of structures of the nociceptive system, such as dorsal root ganglia (DRG) or the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) represent useful tools, when research comes to a cellular and molecular level. They allow for studying mechanisms of neuronal sensitization, glial cell activation, or the role of specific inflammatory mediators and intracellular signaling cascades involved in the development of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Moreover, DRG/SDH-cultures provide the opportunity to test novel strategies for interventions, such as pharmaceuticals or cell-based therapies targeting neuroinflammatory processes. Thereby, models contribute to a better understanding of neuron-glia-immune communication in the context of pain and in the advancement of pain therapies. However, this can only be one piece in a large puzzle. Our knowledge about the complexity of pain will depend on studies in humans and animals applied and and will benefit from clear and open-minded interdisciplinary communication and transparency in public outreach.
我们如何在不使人类或动物遭受疼痛的情况下更多地了解疼痛呢？这篇简短的综述聚焦于神经胶质原代细胞培养物，将其作为在疼痛背景下研究神经免疫相互作用的模型，并讨论了它们的优缺点。基础疼痛研究领域使科学家陷入了伦理困境。我们旨在了解疼痛的潜在机制，以改善对人类和动物的疼痛治疗。与此同时，这通常包括在模型动物中诱导疼痛。在心理神经免疫学领域，研究健康和疾病中神经免疫相互作用的复杂性以及大脑与外周之间的双向通讯，使得动物实验成为疼痛研究中不可或缺的一部分。为了应对伦理和法律考量以及社会对动物福利日益增长的关注，科学家们努力寻找并描述互补方法，以落实拉塞尔和伯奇的3R原则。因此，人们对替代动物研究的方法、所用动物的数量以及优化实验进行了测试。当研究深入到细胞和分子水平时，伤害感受系统结构（如背根神经节（DRG）或脊髓背角（SDH））的神经胶质原代细胞培养物是有用的工具。它们有助于研究神经元致敏、胶质细胞激活的机制，或特定炎症介质和细胞内信号级联反应在炎症性和神经性疼痛发展中的作用。此外，DRG/SDH培养物为测试新的干预策略提供了机会，例如针对神经炎症过程的药物或基于细胞的疗法。因此，这些模型有助于更好地理解疼痛背景下的神经元-胶质细胞-免疫通讯，并推动疼痛治疗的进展。然而，这只是一个大难题中的一部分。我们对疼痛复杂性的认识将取决于在人类和动物身上进行的综合研究，并将受益于清晰且开放的跨学科交流以及公众宣传中的透明度。
