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The role of peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor in chronic osteoarthritic joint pain

2020; AME Publishing Company; Volume: 9; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.21037/apm-20-888

2224-5839

Vwaire Orhurhu, Robert Chu, Sebele Ogunsola, Loretta Akpala, Mariam Salisu Orhurhu, Ivan Urits, Anh L. Ngo, Omar Viswanath, Alan D. Kaye,

Nerve injury and regeneration

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a critical signaling protein in the human nervous system.It is found in high levels throughout the mammalian brain and spinal cord, as well as in the peripheral circulation (1-3).The multifaceted role of BDNF depends on the developmental stage of the nervous s y s t e m .P r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h h a s d e m o n s t r a t e d i t s role in initial development of the nervous system, synaptogenesis, and maintenance of existing neurons (4).Perhaps not surprisingly, therefore, BDNF has also been implicated in several studies to play a role in pathways related to pain perception.In their published work in this issue entitled "Peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor contributes to chronic osteoarthritis joint pain," Gowler and colleagues highlight a heretofore uninvestigated role for BDNF in the modulation of pain related to osteoarthritis (OA) (5).This important study provides a potential mechanism behind OA pain and carries promise for future work into disease-modifying therapies to treat OA. BDNF expression Location of expressionBDNF's expression in many different human tissues contributes to its central role in nervous system regulation.Hofer and colleagues found during initial research that BDNF is expressed in all major regions of the human brain.However, the hippocampus and cerebral cortex were found to be the locations of highest expression of BDNF mRNA (1).BDNF mRNA was further sublocalized to the neocortex, piriform cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, claustrum, thalamus, hypothalamus, and brainstem (2).BDNF i m m u n o r e a c t i v i t y w a s o b s e r v e d w i t h o u t m R N A expression in several brain regions, as well as the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.Microglia were also found to contain significant repositories of BDNF (6).Subsequent investigations found measurable levels of BDNF in circulating blood serum (3).