Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Astrocyte–neuron metabolism

Glycogen from spinal astrocytes dials up the pain

Nature Metabolism volume 6, pages 384–386 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

A recent study in Nature Metabolism uncovers a mechanism for pain sensitization that involves a regulatory protein of glycogen metabolism in spinal astrocytes. Targeting this protein, or the lactate fluxes linked to glycogen breakdown, may provide novel opportunities for pain management.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Upregulation of astrocytic glycogen metabolism by PTG is necessary for pain sensitization.

References

  1. Ji, R.-R., Nackley, A., Huh, Y., Terrando, N. & Maixner, W. Anesthesiology 129, 343–366 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Woolf, C. J. Pain 152, S2–S15 (2011). Suppl.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Volkow, N. D. & Collins, F. S. N. Engl. J. Med. 377, 391–394 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Perea, G., Navarrete, M. & Araque, A. Trends Neurosci. 32, 421–431 (2009).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Bak, L. K., Walls, A. B., Schousboe, A. & Waagepetersen, H. S. J. Biol. Chem. 293, 7108–7116 (2018).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Mongeon, R., Venkatachalam, V. & Yellen, G. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 25, 553–563 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Mächler, P. et al. Cell Metab. 23, 94–102 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. de Castro Abrantes, H. et al. J. Neurosci. 39, 4422–4433 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Hagihara, H. et al. Cell Rep. 37, 109820 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Magistretti, P. J. & Allaman, I. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 19, 235–249 (2018).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Díaz-García, C. M. et al. Cell Metab. 26, 361–374.e4 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Markussen, K. H. et al. J. Neurochem. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnc.15926 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Marty-Lombardi, S. et al. Nat. Metab. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-024-01001-2 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Ruchti, E., Roach, P. J., DePaoli-Roach, A. A., Magistretti, P. J. & Allaman, I. IBRO Rep. 1, 46–53 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Rothman, D. L. et al. J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab. 42, 844–860 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author thanks W. E. Sonntag for helpful comments on the manuscript. Research in the author’s laboratory is supported in part by NIGMS/NIH 5P20GM125528-04 from the Cellular and Molecular GeroScience CoBRE, and the 2022 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and American Federation for Aging Research Grant for Junior Faculty. The funders had no role in the preparation or the decision to publish this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA

    Carlos Manlio Díaz-García

  2. Center for Geroscience and Healthy Brain Aging, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA

    Carlos Manlio Díaz-García

  3. Harold Hamm Diabetes Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA

    Carlos Manlio Díaz-García

Authors
  1. Carlos Manlio Díaz-García
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carlos Manlio Díaz-García.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Díaz-García, C.M. Glycogen from spinal astrocytes dials up the pain. Nat Metab 6, 384–386 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-024-01000-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-024-01000-3

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing