ABSTRACT
As the primary innate immune cells in the central nervous system, microglia can be activated by external noxious stimulus and in turn interact with astroglia and neurons to induce neuroinflammation and facilitate the transmission of pain signals. This response can help the central nervous system adapt to the changes of the internal environment induced by noxious stimulus, leading to the long-term sensitivity of peripheral and central pain nerve conduction pathways and chronic neuropathic pain. Numerous researches found that activation of microglia participated in the occurrence and maintenance of chronic neuropathic pain, and inhibition of microglial activation in the spinal cord or the brain had analgesic effect in animal experiments. Due to the fact that molecular and cellular mechanisms between the activation of microglia and pain remittence are unclear, there are many difficulties in designing of new drugs selectively targeting to the activation of microglia for treatment of chronic neuropathic pain. We review here the research articles on microglia and chronic neuropathic pain, sorting out the relationship between microglia and chronic neuropathic pain, and provide new ideas for the development of new drugs targeting to microglia for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain.
ABSTRACT
Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) result from clonal expansion of haematopoietic stem cells and are characterized by abnormal proliferation of myeloid lineage cells in the bone marrow. Sustained activation of JAK-STAT signaling pathway due to JAK2 phosphorylation is an important cause of MPNs, and mutation of JAK2 kinase can keep it in a state of continuous phosphorylation. The most typical mutation in JAK2 is a site mutation of V617F in the pseudokinase domain. The JAK2V617F-activating mutation is highly prevalent in MPNs, with frequencies estimated at approximately 95% in polycythaemia vera (PV) and 50% in primary myelofibrosis (PMF) and essential thrombocytosis (ET) patients. It is now clear that JAK2 is an important target for treatment of MPNs. Inhibiting aberrant activation of the JAK2-STAT signaling pathway has become a popular trend in research for effective treatment of MPNs. This review summarizes the research progress in developing JAK2 inhibitors for treatment of MPNs in recent years, including the new discoveries of the biological functions of JAK2, the relationship between JAK2 and MPN, and the status of development of JAK2 small molecule inhibitors.