Neuron glia biology
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Broad interest in the rapidly advancing field of microglial involvement in forming neural circuits is evident from the fresh findings published in leading journals. This special issue of Neuron Glia Biology contains a special collection of research articles and reviews concerning the new appreciation of microglial function in the normal physiology of the brain that extends beyond their traditionally understood role in pathology.
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Neuron glia biology · Feb 2011
ReviewBrain-derived neurotrophic factor from microglia: a molecular substrate for neuropathic pain.
One of the most significant advances in pain research is the realization that neurons are not the only cell type involved in the etiology of chronic pain. This realization has caused a radical shift from the previous dogma that neuronal dysfunction alone accounts for pain pathologies to the current framework of thinking that takes into account all cell types within the central nervous system (CNS). This shift in thinking stems from growing evidence that glia can modulate the function and directly shape the cellular architecture of nociceptive networks in the CNS. ⋯ Microglia expresses several P2 receptor subtypes, and of these the P2X4 receptor subtype has emerged as a core microglia-neuron signaling pathway: activation of this receptor drives the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a cellular substrate that causes disinhibition of pain-transmitting spinal lamina I neurons. Converging evidence points to BDNF from spinal microglia as being a critical microglia-neuron signaling molecule that gates aberrant nociceptive processing in the spinal cord. The present review highlights recent advances in our understanding of P2X4 receptor-mediated signaling and regulation of BDNF in microglia, as well as the implications for microglia-neuron interactions in the pathobiology of neuropathic pain.