The contribution of spinal dorsal horn astrocytes in neuropathic pain at the early stage of EAE

Reactive astrocytes play a complex role in multiple sclerosis, and the astrocytes reactivity is an important factor in the pathogenesis of pain. It is of great significance to explore the genesis and development mechanism of pain in the early stage of multiple sclerosis (MS) for early intervention of the disease. This study aims to explore astrocyte reactivity at different stages of the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, a mouse model of MS, and the role of astrocytes in the pain in the early stage of the EAE. In this study, we demonstrated that spinal dorsal horn astrocytes were activated in the pre-clinical stage of EAE mice, and the inhibition of spinal cord astrocyte reactivity effectively alleviates pain symptoms in EAE mice. On the other hand, spinal cord microglia were not directly participated in the early EAE pain. Moreover, the ion channel LRRC8A mediated the reactivity of spinal dorsal horn astrocytes by regulating the STAT3 pathway, therefore playing a role in the early pain of EAE.

Automated summary

This study revealed that reactive astrocytes have a role in the early stages of multiple sclerosis and are important in the development of pain. Inhibition of astrocyte reactivity effectively alleviates pain symptoms in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Spinal cord microglia do not directly participate in the early stage of pain in multiple sclerosis. Moreover, the ion channel LRRC8A mediated the reactivity of astrocytes, thereby playing a role in the early pain of multiple sclerosis.