title: Microglia and monocytes synergistically promote the transition from acute to chronic pain after nerve injury.
abstract: Microglia and peripheral monocytes contribute to hypersensitivity in rodent models of neuropathic pain. However, the precise respective function of microglia and peripheral monocytes has not been investigated in these models. To address this question, here we combined transgenic mice and pharmacological tools to specifically and temporally control the depletion of microglia and monocytes in a mouse model of spinal nerve transection (SNT). We found that although microglia and monocytes are required during the initiation of mechanical allodynia or thermal hyperalgesia, these cells may not be as important for the maintenance of hypersensitivity. Moreover, we demonstrated that either resident microglia or peripheral monocytes are sufficient in gating neuropathic pain after SNT. We propose that resident microglia and peripheral monocytes act synergistically to initiate hypersensitivity and promote the transition from acute to chronic pain after peripheral nerve injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Jiyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.|Department of Anesthesia, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.|Department of Physiology and Pain Research Center, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yet-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Ukpong
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1840-6925
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: B Eyo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Madhuvika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murugan
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Wen-Biao
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Long-Jun
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8019-3380
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000073883:CX3C Chemokine Receptor 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D017628:Microglia / Q000502:physiology*; D009000:Monocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries / Q000276:immunology*; D013127:Spinal Nerves / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000073883:CX3C Chemokine Receptor 1; C471885:Cx3cr1 protein, mouse