Microglia and Spinal Cord Synaptic Plasticity in Persistent Pain | Zendy

Sarah Taves | Zendy; Temugin Berta | Zendy; Gang Chen | Zendy; RuRong Ji | Zendy

AI Assistant Blog Pricing

Home ZAIA Blog

Open Access

Microglia and Spinal Cord Synaptic Plasticity in Persistent Pain

Author(s) -

Sarah Taves,

Temugin Berta,

Gang Chen,

RuRong Ji

Publication year - 2013

Publication title -

neural plasticity

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 1.288

H-Index - 68

eISSN - 2090-5904

pISSN - 1687-5443

DOI - 10.1155/2013/753656

Subject(s) - neuroscience , microglia , neuroinflammation , spinal cord , medicine , neurotrophic factors , proinflammatory cytokine , neuroplasticity , synaptic plasticity , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , neurodegeneration , central nervous system , chronic pain , brain derived neurotrophic factor , psychology , inflammation , immunology , pathology , receptor , disease

Microglia are regarded as macrophages in the central nervous system (CNS) and play an important role in neuroinflammation in the CNS. Microglial activation has been strongly implicated in neurodegeneration in the brain. Increasing evidence also suggests an important role of spinal cord microglia in the genesis of persistent pain, by releasing the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF α ), Interleukine-1beta (IL-1 β ), and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In this review, we discuss the recent findings illustrating the importance of microglial mediators in regulating synaptic plasticity of the excitatory and inhibitory pain circuits in the spinal cord, leading to enhanced pain states. Insights into microglial-neuronal interactions in the spinal cord dorsal horn will not only further our understanding of neural plasticity but may also lead to novel therapeutics for chronic pain management.

The content you want is available to Zendy users.

Already have an account? Click here to sign in.

Having issues? You can contact us here

Accelerating Research