The Modulatory Effect of Motor Cortex Astrocytes on Diabetic Neuropathic Pain.

Abstract

Diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) is a common complication of diabetes characterized by persistent pain. Emerging evidence links astrocytes to mechanical nociceptive processing, and the motor cortex (MCx) is a cerebral cortex region that is known to play a key role in pain regulation. However, the association between MCx astrocytes and DNP pathogenesis remains largely unexplored. Here, we studied this association using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs to specifically manipulate MCx astrocytes. We proved that the selective inhibition of MCx astrocytes reduced DNP in streptozocin (STZ)-induced DNP models and discovered a potential mechanism by which astrocytes release cytokines, including TNF-α and IL-1β, to increase neuronal activation in the MCx, thereby regulating pain. Together, these results demonstrate a pivotal role for MCx astrocytes in DNP pathogenesis and provide new insight into DNP treatment strategies.

• Authors: Jingshan Lu, Lan Yang, Ying Xu, Lijing Ai, Jian Chen, Fangfang Xiong, Lihuan Hu, Huoshu Chen, Jiyuan Liu, Xiongbin Yan, Huihui Huang, Li Chen, Changxi Yu
• Journal: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience (J Neurosci) Vol. 41 Issue 24 Pg. 5287-5302 (06 16 2021) ISSN: 1529-2401 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 33753547 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2021 the authors.

Topics

• Animals
• Astrocytes (metabolism)
• Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental (physiopathology)
• Diabetic Neuropathies (physiopathology)
• Male
• Motor Cortex (physiopathology)
• Neuralgia (physiopathology)
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Rats