Pathos (Sep 2011)
Glia, mast cells and related: new therapeutic perspectives?
Abstract
Glia exerts a pathogenic role in the development and maintenance of pain. In the past, glia was considered only support material; the glia is 70 to 90 percent of the CNS cells. Normally in a resting state, it is activated by substances released from central terminals of C fibers and releases cytokines that enhance excitatory synaptic transmission in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (that is the basis of central sensitization), with allodynia-hyperalgesia. By analogy with the role of glia, it has been suggested the importance of the mast cell, a connective ubiquitous cell filled with granules that contain histamine, heparin, serotonin, and NGF as well as lipid droplets that contain hyaluronic acid and a cell membrane on which cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 and vanilloid are located. Nociceptive stimuli cause mast cell degranulation and the release of substances contained in the granules. ___________________________________________________
