Journal of Pain Research (Aug 2022)
The Role of Neuro-Immune Interactions in Chronic Pain: Implications for Clinical Practice
Abstract
Po-Yi Paul Su,1 Lingyi Zhang,1,2 Liangliang He,1,3 Na Zhao,1 Zhonghui Guan1 1Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; 2Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pain Management, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhonghui Guan, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA, Tel +415.885.7246, Fax +415.885.7575, Email [email protected]: Chronic pain remains a public health problem and contributes to the ongoing opioid epidemic. Current pain management therapies still leave many patients with poorly controlled pain, thus new or improved treatments are desperately needed. One major challenge in pain research is the translation of preclinical findings into effective clinical practice. The local neuroimmune interface plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of chronic pain and is therefore a promising target for novel therapeutic development. Neurons interface with immune and immunocompetent cells in many distinct microenvironments along the nociceptive circuitry. The local neuroimmune interface can modulate the activity and property of the neurons to affect peripheral and central sensitization. In this review, we highlight a specific subset of many neuroimmune interfaces. In the central nervous system, we examine the interface between neurons and microglia, astrocytes, and T lymphocytes. In the periphery, we profile the interface between neurons in the dorsal root ganglion with T lymphocytes, satellite glial cells, and macrophages. To bridge the gap between preclinical research and clinical practice, we review the preclinical studies of each neuroimmune interface, discuss current clinical treatments in pain medicine that may exert its action at the neuroimmune interface, and highlight opportunities for future clinical research efforts.Keywords: neuroimmune, chronic pain, glial cells, macrophage, T-cells
