Many inflammatory skin diseases are accompanied by chronic, intractable itch, but the underlying pathology is poorly understood. Here, the induction of dermatitis in mice induced chronic itch accompanied by long-term reactive astrogliosis in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, which was dependent on STAT3 and exacerbated by gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP). Furthermore, intrathecal administration of LCN2, which is upregulated by activated astrocytes, to normal mice enhanced GRP-induced scratching — an effect that was not produced in GRP receptor-mutant mice. Thus, STAT3-activated astrocytes increase the sensation of itch via a pathway involving LCN2.
References
Shiratori-Hayashi, M. et al. STAT3-dependent reactive astrogliosis in the spinal dorsal horn underlies chronic itch. Nat. Med. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm.3912 (2015)
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Lewis, S. Itchy astrocytes. Nat Rev Neurosci 16, 508 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn4010
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn4010
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