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古曲新韵：下行性5-羟色胺系统在疼痛机制中的作用

魏锋^*, 顾明, 褚玉霞

马里兰大学口腔医学院神经和疼痛科学系，巴尔的摩，马里兰州 20201，美国

摘要

大量临床和基础的研究提示5-羟色胺(5-HT)系统参与了生理痛觉的调节和慢性痛的机理。近来，随着全新的基因调控技术和药理上特异性5-HT受体亚型试剂的应用，人们对5-HT系统在脑干下行痛觉抑制和易化机理中的功能又有新的认识。尽管这些研究揭示了下行性5-HT传导及其脊髓内受体在痛觉调制的新功能，但5-HT系统在慢性痛的形成和维持等方面的作用仍了解甚少。本文回顾了近年来在此领域已取得的进展，力图更新我们对这一经典神经递质和相关受体信号系统及其可塑性变化在慢性痛机理中的认识，进而引导我们寻求新的战略来发展有效的临床抗慢性痛药。

关键词： 5-羟色胺; 5-羟色胺受体; 下行性调控; 脊髓; 疼痛

分类号：R338

New tricks for an old slug: Descending serotonergic system in pain

Wei Feng^*, Gu Ming, Chu Yu-Xia

Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, Dental School, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA

Abstract

A large body of research including animal and human studies has confirmed the crucial role of the serotonin (5-HT) system in the regulation of nociception and chronic pain-related behaviors. In recent years, the functional status of the 5-HT system in descending inhibition and facilitation of spinal nociceptive processing has been reevaluated by novel genetic manipulation techniques and selective agents for 5-HT receptor subtypes. Although these studies shed more light on several aspects of descending 5-HT and spinal 5-HT receptors functioning in descending modulation in pain perception, the current knowledge about the specific role of descending 5-HT system in the induction and maintenance of persistent pain remains fragmentary. In this paper, we review the available data from recent studies of the inhibitory or facilitatory influence from descending 5-HT-spinal 5-HT receptor system in acute and persistent pain, attempt to dissect the involvement of this signaling pathway in neural circuits of maintenance of persistent pain and discuss some issues that need to be considered for further pain research.

Key words: 5-HT; 5-HT receptor; descending modulation; spinal cord; pain

收稿日期：2012-08-10　　录用日期：2012-09-07

通讯作者：魏锋　　E-mail: fwei@umaryland.edu

引用本文：

魏锋, 顾明, 褚玉霞. 古曲新韵：下行性5-羟色胺系统在疼痛机制中的作用[J]. 生理学报 2012; 64 (5): 520-530.

Wei Feng, Gu Ming, Chu Yu-Xia. New tricks for an old slug: Descending serotonergic system in pain. Acta Physiol Sin 2012; 64 (5): 520-530 (in Chinese with English abstract).