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REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1555732
This article is part of the Research Topic Advancements in P2X7 Antagonists: From Mechanistic Insights to Therapeutic Applications View all articles
Focus on P2X7R in Microglia: Its Mechanism of Action and Therapeutic Prospects in Various Neuropathic Pain Models
Provisionally accepted- 1 Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
- 2 Orthopedics Key Laboratory of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
- 3 Lanzhou Biotechnique Development Co., Ltd, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
Neuropathic pain (NP) is a common symptom of many diseases and is caused by direct or indirect damage to the nervous system. Tricyclic antidepressants and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are typical drugs used in clinical practice to suppress pain. However, these drugs have drawbacks, including a short duration of action, a limited analgesic effect, and possible dependence and side effects. Therefore, developing more effective NP treatment strategies has become a priority in medical research and has attracted much research attention. P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) is a non-selective cation channel activated by adenosine triphosphate and is mainly expressed in microglia in the central nervous system. Microglial P2X7R plays an important role in pain regulation, suggesting that it could be a potential target for drug
Keywords: neuropathic pain, P2X7R, Microglia, M1/M2 polarization, cytokine, Neuroinflammation
Received: 05 Jan 2025; Accepted: 07 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Ran, Zhang, Wang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Haihong Zhang, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
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