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Updated: May 22, 2026

Chronic Post-Ischemia Pain Model for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type-I in Rats
Published on: January 21, 2020
P2X4 purinoceptor signaling in chronic pain
1Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada.
Abstract:
ATP, acting via P2 purinergic receptors, is a known mediator of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. There is increasing evidence that the ATP-gated P2X4 receptor (P2X4R) subtype is a locus through which activity of spinal microglia and peripheral macrophages instigate pain hypersensitivity caused by inflammation or by injury to a peripheral nerve. The present article highlights the recent advances in our understanding of microglia-neuron interactions in neuropathic pain by focusing on the signaling and regulation of the P2X4R. We will also develop a framework for understanding converging lines of evidence for involvement of P2X4Rs expressed on macrophages in peripheral inflammatory pain.
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