Impaired Autophagy of GABAergic Interneurons in Neuropathic Pain

Figure 1

Therapeutic strategy to regulate GABAergic interneurons in spinal central sensitization. There is growing evidence that impaired autophagy and ER stress contribute to dysfunction of dorsal horn GABAergic neurons. Autophagosome accumulation and impairment of autophagic flux in GABAergic neurons make them susceptible to peripheral nerve injury or other pain stimuli. Therefore, there are several ways to control GABA neurons to control the spinal central sensitization that contributes to neuropathic pain. (1) Functional recovery of GABAergic interneurons, (2) neurotransmitter release regulation, (3) microglia targeted M1/2 polarization regulation, and (4) astrocyte targeted regulation.