Abstract：
Chronic pain has been proven to be an independent disease, other than an accompanying symptom of certain diseases. Interleukin-18 (IL-18), a pro-inflammatory cytokine with pleiotropic biological effects, participates in immune modulation, inflammatory response, tumor growth, as well as the process of chronic pain. Compelling evidence suggests that IL-18 is upregulated in the occurrence of chronic pain. Antagonism or inhibition of IL-18 expression can alleviate the occurrence and development of chronic pain. And IL-18 is located in microglia, while IL-18R is mostly located in astrocytes in the spinal cord. This indicates that the interaction between microglia and astrocytes mediated by the IL-18/IL-18R axis is involved in the occurrence of chronic pain. In this review, we described the role and mechanism of IL-18 in different types of chronic pain. This review provides strong evidence that IL-18 is a potential therapeutic target in pain management.
摘要：
慢性疼痛已被证明是一种独立的疾病，除了某些疾病的伴随症状。白细胞介素-18(IL-18),一种具有多效生物学效应的促炎细胞因子，参与免疫调节，炎症反应，肿瘤生长，以及慢性疼痛的过程。令人信服的证据表明，IL-18在慢性疼痛的发生中上调。拮抗或抑制IL-18的表达可以缓解慢性疼痛的发生和发展。IL-18位于小胶质细胞中,而IL-18R主要位于脊髓的星形胶质细胞中。这表明由IL-18/IL-18R轴介导的小胶质细胞和星形胶质细胞之间的相互作用参与慢性疼痛的发生。在这次审查中,我们描述了IL-18在不同类型慢性疼痛中的作用和机制。这篇综述提供了强有力的证据，证明IL-18是疼痛管理的潜在治疗靶点。
