Cited by 192Pain Mechanisms and TreatmentsPain Management and TreatmentNerve injury and regeneration

Supraspinal Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Signaling: A Novel Mechanism for Descending Pain Facilitation

Open access
Guo, Wei, Robbins, Meredith T., Wei, Feng, Zou, Shiping, Dubner, Ronald, Ren, Ke·2006·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

In the adult mammalian brain, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is critically involved in long-term synaptic plasticity. Here, we show that supraspinal BDNF-tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB) signaling contributes to pain facilitation. We show that BDNF-containing neurons in the periaqueductal gray (PAG), the central structure for pain modulation, project to and release BDNF in the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM), a relay between the PAG and spinal cord. BDNF in PAG and TrkB phosphorylation in RVM neurons are upregulated after inflammation. Intra-RVM sequestration of BDNF and knockdown of TrkB by RNA interference attenuate inflammatory pain. Microinjection of BDNF (10-100 fmol) into the RVM facilitates nociception, which is dependent on NMDA receptors (NMDARs). In vitro studies with RVM slices show that BDNF induces tyrosine phosphorylation of the NMDAR NR2A subunit in RVM via a signal transduction cascade involving IP(3), PKC, and Src. The supraspinal BDNF-TrkB signaling represents a previously unknown mechanism underlying the development of persistent pain. Our findings also caution that application of BDNF for recovery from CNS disorders could lead to undesirable central pain.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.3686-05.2006

Cites

52 of 52 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Guo, W., Robbins, M. T., Wei, F., Zou, S., Dubner, R., & Ren, K.
Affiliations
University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
Corresponding author
Ren, Ke
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2006-01-04
Volume
26
Issue
1
Pages
126-137
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2131110619
Cited by
192
References
52
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 11
FWCI
9.08
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA10275, R01DA010275)
  • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (DE 11964, R01DE011964)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Nerve injury and regeneration
Keywords
brain-derived neurotrophic factor, TrkB receptor, descending facilitation, periaqueductal gray, rostral ventromedial medulla, inflammatory pain, NMDA receptor, NR2A subunit, chronic pain, central sensitization, IP3 signaling, protein kinase C, Src kinase, nociception, central pain
MeSH terms
Animals, Male, Medulla Oblongata, Pain, Pain Measurement, Pyramidal Tracts, Signal Transduction, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Receptor, trkB, Rats

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review