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Pain

TLR5 opens the door to neuropathic-pain treatment

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery volume 14, pages 818–819 (2015)Cite this article

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TLRs are a group of evolutionarily conserved receptors that have an important role in initiating an immune response to pathogens. Although they are typically expressed on immune cells, recent research has identified members of the TLR family on primary sensory neurons in dorsal root ganglia (DRG), where they modulate sensory functions, including those involved in pain.

Using quantitative PCR, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, the authors of the current study found that TLR5 is expressed in medium-to-large diameter mouse neurons and shows a high level of co-expression with NF200 — a marker of myelinated group A fibres. Moreover, TLR5 was found not only on cell bodies located in the DRG, but also on sensory terminals and in the deep laminae of the spinal horn, where Aβ fibres terminate.

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References

  1. Xu, Z.-Z. et al. Inhibition of mechanical allodynia in neuropathic pain by TLR5-mediated A-fiber blockade. Nat. Med. 21, 1326–1331 (2015)

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  1. Katie Kingwell
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Kingwell, K. TLR5 opens the door to neuropathic-pain treatment. Nat Rev Drug Discov 14, 818–819 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd4785

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