Mast Cell-Mediated Mechanisms of Nociception
Kristen Sparrow • May 26, 2020
This is an exhaustive look at the different mechanisms involved in mast cell activation and how they might relate to different pain conditions. Mast cells are released with acupuncture needling and can contribute to positive feedback loops to quash hyper sensitivity and auto immune conditions.
This article has mast cells playing a role in pain conditions, but there is evidence of mast cell activation leading to decreased pain upon activation also. Feedback loops are complicated…
One aspect that I had not seen, or thought about before is that mast cells ” key players in orchestrating inflammation-associated pain pathobiology due to their proximity to both vasculature and nerve fibers.”
Mast Cell-Mediated Mechanisms of Nociception
Abstract
Mast cells are tissue-resident immune cells that release immuno-modulators, chemo-attractants, vasoactive compounds, neuropeptides and growth factors in response to allergens and pathogens constituting a first line of host defense. The neuroimmune interface of immune cells modulating synaptic responses has been of increasing interest, and mast cells have been proposed as key players in orchestrating inflammation-associated pain pathobiology due to their proximity to both vasculature and nerve fibers. Molecular underpinnings of mast cell-mediated pain can be disease-specific. Understanding such mechanisms is critical for developing disease-specific targeted therapeutics to improve analgesic outcomes. We review molecular mechanisms that may contribute to nociception in a disease-specific manner.
