Huan‑Jun Lu1 · Yong‑Jing Gao11 Institute of Pain Medicine and Special Environmental Medicine, Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
Abstract
Chronic pain is challenging to treat due to the limited therapeutic options and adverse side-effects of therapies. Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cells in the central nervous system and play important roles in different pathological conditions, including chronic pain. Astrocytes regulate nociceptive synaptic transmission and network function via neuron–glia and glia–glia interactions to exaggerate pain signals under chronic pain conditions. It is also becoming clear that astrocytes play active roles in brain regions important for the emotional and memory-related aspects of chronic pain. Therefore, this review presents our current understanding of the roles of astrocytes in chronic pain, how they regulate nociceptive responses, and their cellular and molecular mechanisms of action.
Keywords
Huan‑Jun Lu1; Yong‑Jing Gao1
