Inhibition of mechanical allodynia in neuropathic pain by TLR5-mediated A-fiber blockade.

ABSTRACT: Mechanical allodynia, induced by normally innocuous low-threshold mechanical stimulation, represents a cardinal feature of neuropathic pain. Blockade or ablation of high-threshold, small-diameter unmyelinated group C nerve fibers (C-fibers) has limited effects on mechanical allodynia. Although large, myelinated group A fibers, in particular Aβ-fibers, have previously been implicated in mechanical allodynia, an A-fiber-selective pharmacological blocker is still lacking. Here we report a new method for targeted silencing of A-fibers in neuropathic pain. We found that Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) is co-expressed with neurofilament-200 in large-diameter A-fiber neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). Activation of TLR5 with its ligand flagellin results in neuronal entry of the membrane-imper

SUBMITTER: Xu ZZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4752254 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature