TY - JOUR
T1 - T Cells as an Emerging Target for Chronic Pain Therapy
AU - Laumet, Geoffroy
AU - Ma, Jiacheng
AU - Robison, Alfred J.
AU - Kumari, Susmita
AU - Heijnen, Cobi J.
AU - Kavelaars, Annemieke
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2019 Laumet, Ma, Robison, Kumari, Heijnen and Kavelaars.
PY - 2019/9/11
Y1 - 2019/9/11
N2 - The immune system is critically involved in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. However, T cells, one of the main regulators of the immune response, have only recently become a focus of investigations on chronic pain pathophysiology. Emerging clinical data suggest that patients with chronic pain have a different phenotypic profile of circulating T cells compared to controls. At the preclinical level, findings on the function of T cells are mixed and differ between nerve injury, chemotherapy, and inflammatory models of persistent pain. Depending on the type of injury, the subset of T cells and the sex of the animal, T cells may contribute to the onset and/or the resolution of pain, underlining T cells as a major player in the transition from acute to chronic pain. Specific T cell subsets release mediators such as cytokines and endogenous opioid peptides that can promote, suppress, or even resolve pain. Inhibiting the pain-promoting functions of T cells and/or enhancing the beneficial effects of pro-resolution T cells may offer new disease-modifying strategies for the treatment of chronic pain, a critical need in view of the current opioid crisis.
AB - The immune system is critically involved in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. However, T cells, one of the main regulators of the immune response, have only recently become a focus of investigations on chronic pain pathophysiology. Emerging clinical data suggest that patients with chronic pain have a different phenotypic profile of circulating T cells compared to controls. At the preclinical level, findings on the function of T cells are mixed and differ between nerve injury, chemotherapy, and inflammatory models of persistent pain. Depending on the type of injury, the subset of T cells and the sex of the animal, T cells may contribute to the onset and/or the resolution of pain, underlining T cells as a major player in the transition from acute to chronic pain. Specific T cell subsets release mediators such as cytokines and endogenous opioid peptides that can promote, suppress, or even resolve pain. Inhibiting the pain-promoting functions of T cells and/or enhancing the beneficial effects of pro-resolution T cells may offer new disease-modifying strategies for the treatment of chronic pain, a critical need in view of the current opioid crisis.
KW - T cells
KW - chronic pain
KW - cytokines
KW - neuroimmune
KW - opioids
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U2 - 10.3389/fnmol.2019.00216
DO - 10.3389/fnmol.2019.00216
M3 - Article
C2 - 31572125
AN - SCOPUS:85073054444
SN - 1662-5099
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
JF - Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
M1 - 216
ER -